AN ANTIQUE French desk is set to fetch up to £30,000 when it goes under the hammer at Dukes auctioneers in Dorchester.

The 19th century bureau will be the climax of a specialised ceramic and furniture auction at the Weymouth Avenue salesroom on September 26.

Dukes expert Guy Schwinge said the Louis XVI style 'bureau a gradin' is based on a historic model from the Chateau de Bellevue that is now in the Louvre gallery and museum in Paris.

Bronze and ceramic models of dogs will be among the prize pieces to go up for auction earlier in the day.

Mr Schwinge said: "The auction will end with the furniture section.

"This will include an important Louis XVI style ormolu mounted bureau a gradin in the manner of Grohle.

"It was based on the model by Etienne Lavasseur commissioned by Mesdames de France for the Chateau de Bellevue."

The desk, which is expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000, has a red, grey and yellow mottled marble top with a drawer, an open shelf and herringbone veneered tambour doors. It has a leather-lined writing surface, 11 more drawers with trelliswork fronts, decorative panels and pull out slides.

Mr Schwinge added: "Although unsigned, the parquetry panels on this magnificent bureau a gradin may be compared to those found on furniture signed by Grohle."

A 19th century Meissen ceramic model of a bolognese terrier painted in brown and amber is expected to fetch between £500 and £1,000.

A bronze model of a setter and pointer discovering a partridge in the undergrowth, signed and dated from 1847, is expected to go under the hammer for between £1,000 and £2,000.

Dukes also expect a bronze study of a bull to sell for £1,500 to £3,000.