SUMMERS PLACE AUCTIONS FIRST SALE OF GARDEN STATUARY FETCHES OVER £2 MILLION
A hugely successful first sale of Garden Statuary, Architectural Items and Decorative Fossils was held at Summers Place Auctions (in association with Sotheby’s) in Billingshurst, West Sussex comprising a live sale on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 and a sealed bid auction which finished on Tuesday, May 27, 2008.
The live auction contained just under 150 lots, while the newly introduced sealed bid sale had 320 and combined the two auctions totalled £2,026,651. The highest price paid was for a set of four impressive carved Italian white marble figures representing the Seasons, which dated from the late 19th century and sold for £180,500 against an estimate of £150,000/250,000 [Lot 73]. The set which had been in a garden in Argentina for more than 100years, had a very good quality surface and achieved such a high price due to the rarity of a complete set coming to the market. They were purchased in the room, on behalf of a Private UK Collector.
A very fine quality French cast iron figure of Flora, after Mathurin Moreau, dating from 1900, was also highly soughafter and after fierce competition between two bidders on the telephone, it realised £79,700 - almost four times its low estimate [Lot 65].
A rare pair of lead lidded urns dating from the mid 18th century and decorated in frolicking classical putti attracted substantial interest, partuculary when the two experts in charge, James Rylands and Rupert van Werff, subsequently attributed them to John van Nost, whi is considered as the greatest lead modeller of the 18th century. On a recent visit to Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire, the team saw the Four Season Vase and were able to make a comparison with the piece in their sale. This resullted in the vases selling for £74,900 against an estimate of £20,000/30,000 [Lot 86]. Other pieces by van Nost are also in the collections of Chatsworth and Castle Howard.
Another fine piece by a notable 18th century lead modeller was the Mower by John Cheere. This rare model, similar to one at Bicton Park in Devon realised £50,900 against an estimate of £30,000/50,000 [Lot 67].
James Rylands, Auctioneer of the sale and one of the specialist in charge said: “As the world’s leading Auction House specialising in Garden Statuary, we are delighted with the result of our first auction in asscociation with Sotheby’s. This sale not only shows that the market for good pieces is stronger than ever, but it also proves that we can sell a vast range of items spanning a 2000 year period - from an Eastern Roman Empire carved white capital from 2nd/3rd century AD (sold for £9,375 – Lot 7) to the two Lalanne Chairs from the 1980s which fetched £48,500 each [Lots 118 & 119].”
Also included in the sale was a good selection of fossils, notable examples included an execeptional Crinoid Plaque from the German Juarassic period which sold for £43,700 against an estimate of £15,000/25,000 [Lot 146] and is believed to be the most expensive Holtzmagen crinoid sold at auction. A mounted pair of Irish Elk Antlers, measuring 246cm wide, fetched £24,500 (estimate: £10,000/15,000).
The live auction is complemented by Summers Place Auction’s first sealed bid auction, which comprises an additional 320 lots of Garden, Statuary and Fossil Decoration. The sealed bid auction continues until Tuesday, May 27.
The next sale will be held on Tuesday, October 21, with the sealed bid auction continuing until Friday, October 24.
For further information on the auctions
Please visit www.summersplaceauctions.com or Call 01403 331331.