Chinese bidders, in the saleroom, on the phone and online, once again made their presence felt at Sheppard's auction in Durrow.

The top lot was a pair of Chinese Qing Dynasty cloisonné enamelled candlesticks, from a private collection in Co Kildare, which sold for €150,000, 10 times the estimate (€10,000-€15,000). A Song Dynasty wood sculpture of Guanyin, the female Buddhist deity, sold for €110,000 (€50,000-€80,000).

A Ming-period gilt bronze Buddha, described as 15th-century Tibeto-Chinese, from a house in Brighton Square, Rathgar in Dublin sold for €65,000 (€20,000- €30,000).

Overall, 81 per cent of the lots sold in the three-day auction.

A Portrait of Lady Mildred Butler, Countess of Kilkenny by Thomas Hickey, made €1,900 (€2,000-€3,000). A bronze figure of a horse by HR De Vains made €2,500 (€2,500-€3,500). In the taxidermy section, a glass-cased owl made €700 (€500-€800).

The top lot in the wine section was a case of Château Lafite Rothschild 1962 , 1er Cru Classe Pauillac which made €7,000 (€8,500-€10,000).