Spa May 11 Final

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Press Release

THE GARDEN COMES TO LIFE ATSUMMERS PLACE AUCTIONS

-The May Sale includes items to suit all tastes and pockets -

AN IMPORTANT COLLECTION of 17th and 18th Century

Italian marble sculpture will be offered in the hugely popular

sale of Garden Statuary and Ornament - both antique and

modern – at Summers Place Auctions (in association with

Sotheby’s) on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 which will take place

in Billingshurst, West Sussex. This will be complemented by

a sealed bid auction, which ends on Friday, May 27, 2011.

Many of the pieces in the collection are in the manner of

Antonio Bonazza (1698-1762). Included is a pair of marble

musicians on pedestals (est: £20,000-30,000) as well as a

monumental 17th Century sculpture of Hercules strangling

the Nemean Lion, which is estimated to fetch £50,000-

80,000.

James Rylands, one of the experts in charge, said “This sale includes pieces with estimates ranging

from £100 up to £150,000, so there really is something for everyone, whether their garden istraditional or cutting-edge contemporary. In these times of continued economic uncertainty, we are

seeing an increasing number of buyers who want to put their money into more solid assets.”

Of historical interest are two pieces removed from a garden in Frognal, North West London, which

was formerly the property of J.Y.McPeake, who was one of the newspaper magnate William

Randolph Hearst’s agents in England. McPeake, an Irishman was originally recruited by Hearst to

publish the English version of Good Housekeeping. First published in 1922 it was an immediate



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success and ultimately enabled Hearst to purchase St

Donat’s castle in Wales in 1925. Hearst used McPeake

to purchase a number of pieces for him including a

Medieval stone font and a 17 th Venetian Istrian stone well

head, which were never shipped to the USA, perhaps

because of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Both are

estimated to fetch up to £5,000.

The sale is also particularly strong in period cast iron

seats from the renowned Coalbrookdale foundry in

Ironbridge, Shropshire - named after the first iron bridge

over the River Severn and now a UNESCO world heritage

site. The company employed leading

designers of the day such as John Bell and

Christopher Dresser who often used

timeless naturalistic motifs which are as

fresh today as when first produced. A

Coalbrookdale ‘Lily of the Valley’ pattern

seat circa 1870 is estimated at £3,000-

5,000 and is one of over 100 lots of

furniture included in the sale.



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Modern sculpture is well represented and includes work by a

number of emerging sculptors representing a good investment

opportunity, which will also give pleasure for years to come! There

are 10 lots by the wildlife sculptor David Cooke in the sale, including

a stoneware ringtail lemur, which measures nearly six feet tall and is

expected to fetch £2,000-3,000.

A good selection of 20th century British sculpture includes four

pieces by Sean Crampton. Born in Manchester in 1918, the eldest

son of an architect, Crampton fought with conspicuous gallantry in

the Second World War winning the Military Cross and the George Medal after having a foot blown off

by a mine. One of his bronzes in the sale, ‘The Batchelors of Avebury’ is estimated at £4,000-6,000

and was inspired by his wartime experiences. Besides

exhibiting at the Royal Academy and other institutional

galleries, Crampton held 17 one-man shows in the West

End of London over a period of nearly four decades.

Of local interest is ‘The Little House’ - a clapboard

miniature house with clay hung tiles and fitted

interior, together with a privy and garden, which is

complete with raised stone beds with shrubs, box

hedging and wrought iron railings. Using old

materials, it was made Peter Hill Jones who owns

an architectural and scrap yard in Yapton, West

Sussex. ‘The Little House’ is the original building

that was later replicated as ‘The Little Ranelagh

House’ and was exhibited at the Royal



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Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show in 2009 and sold by Summers Place Auctions later that

year. Built on a scale of 7:1, it carries an estimate of £10,000-15,000.

The items can be viewed inThe Walled Garden, Stane Street, Billingshurst, West Sussex, RH14 9AB

The catalogue will be available a month before the sale and will be fully illustrated on the website.

VIEWING TIMES:Live and Sealed Bid Auctions

Friday, 20th May – Monday 23rd May: 10am – 4pmAnd on the day of the sale

Live Auction comprising 120 lots 24th May at 1.30pmSealed bid Auction comprising 420 lots; bids opened on Friday 27 th May

For further information on the auction,Please visit www.summersplaceauctions.com or Call 01403 331331

For Press Information only,

Please contact Rachel AkedEmail: [email protected]: 07790 732448

April 2011

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Spa May 11 Final