One item in an Irish auction is expected to tickle the fancy of collectors. Yes, you got it right. The officially named "Antique Carved Ivory Ladies Companion", lot 475 at Matthews Auctioneers in Oldcastle is a Victorian-era Irish sex toy.

According to the auction house, this hand-carved design, made of ivory, was a gift from a husband to his beloved wife in the Victorian-era. A family member found it in a drawer and put it in the auction. This piece is astonishingly life-like looking, and the level of detail is quite incredible, "there is a heart carved at the base of it, where her finger would have been, and a receptacle in which she could keep a lock of his hair."

It is believed that the original owner, a fellow from a well-known Anglo-Irish family, shot an elephant in India in the 1840s, then took the tusk home. Between 1899 to 1901, he went to China to fight in the Boxer Uprising. At that time, he did not know when he could go home, hence hired a Chinese craftman to make such an artistic piece from the tusk, as a gift to his wife. The carry box is believed to be made in Ireland. 

The auction will start at 2pm, Saturday (4/22), local time in Ireland The estimate of this 8.5 inch long "Antique Carved Ivory Ladies Companion in Scarlet Lined Leather Upholstered Carry Box with Inset Bevelled Glass Panel", is €500-800, interested parties can join the bidding here.