Summers Place Auctions
The Walled Garden, Stane Street, Billingshurst, West Sussex, England RH14 9AB
0044 (0)140-333-1331
About Auction House
Summers Place Auctions are the world's leading auctioneers of Garden Statuary and Natural History. Their first sale was held over 30 years ago as part of Sotheby's Country House saleroom at Summers Place in Sussex, since which time the sales have flourished, establishing a global reputation. Following restructuring, the department set up an independent auction house 10 years ago staffed by a team who, between them, have nearly 200 years of Sotheby’s experience.Auction Previews & News
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Auction IndustrySummers Place Auctions to sell unique collection of garden statuary in September sale
Matching carved Cotswold stone corner seats, est £12,000-18,000 @ Summers Place Auctions. BILLINGSHURST.-Summers Place Auctions announced the sale of a unique collection of Garden Statuary. The collection comprises 70 lots and will be part of the Autumn auction on Tuesday, 29th September 2020. The Perry Garden Collection was started in the 1920s when a Mr Perry opened a garage on the main Stroud road near the village of Dodington in the Cotswolds. He had the vision to create an extraordinary ‘go to’ destination at a time when the motorcar became popular and people started to go on days out. Mr Perry had the business sense to add a café to his garage and to offer more than just petrol and tea with cake - he created an environment with an incredible garden as the focal point. It consisted of sunken gardens full of stunning statues, urns and benches, which over the years evolved into an important and unique collection. He acquired his treasures by travelling the Cotswolds and the West Country, attending various country house sales at a time when large country houses had become dormant and were being demolished following the Great War. One of the first recorded sales that he must have attended was at the historic Owlpen Manor. This was originally a Tudor house, but in the late 19th Century it had a complete makeover in the then avant-garde Arts and Crafts style. This auction includes four stone benches, which he had purchased in the Owlpen Manor sale in 1924 conducted by the auction house Bruton Knowles, well known later as the alma mater of the renowned antiques expert Arthur Negus. A near pair of Arts and Craft carved Cotswold stone seats, 176cm wide and 192cm wide, is estimated at £12,000-18,000 whilst a second pair of matching carved Cotswold stone corner seats, 136cm wide carry the same estimate. Over the years Mr Perry continued to purchase garden statuary, with the final lot recorded being the extraordinary Cotswold stone lion gargoyle, which was bought from The Rocks, a massive country house near Corsham, and which was demolished in 1952.…
Auction IndustrySummers Place Auctions announces a major auction of Zimbabwe’s leading sculptors
Tonderai Sowa, Entwined, Springstone, Unique, 80cm high, 48cm wide, 36cm deep. Estimate: £1500 - £2500. BILLINGSHURST.-Summers Place Auctions is holding its first sealed bid auction of sculpture from Zimbabwe. It is the first auction of its kind in the UK exclusively focusing on this African country’s artistic output. A percentage of the sale will go towards a school project in the heart of sculptor communities in MaShonaland. Whilst most of the traditional African tribal artefacts were crafted in less durable materials such as wood, Zimbabwean sculptors are unique in having access to various local stone mines over the centuries. In fact the country’s name means ‘Houses of Stone’ in the Karanga dialect of Shona and the bird on its flag was inspired by the stone-carved birds found at the heritage site Great Zimbabwe, a ruined city which was constructed in the 11th century until it was abandoned in the 15th century. This tradition of sculpture was re-established when the director of the National Gallery in Zimbabwe, Sorbonne-educated Frank McEwen and local farmer and miner Tom Blomfield started the Tengenenge Sculpture Community in the 1950s. Since then various villages have established themselves as centres for sculpting and it is now a tradition that is being passed on from father to son or daughter. Now in the fourth generation, it is fascinating to see how some of the first generation sculptors like Edward Chiwawa, even at the age of 85, are still sculpting and in his case his son Vengai continues the tradition. To honour the movement and to preserve the integrity of techniques crafted over generations the Shona artists continue to work using traditional tools and methodology. It also enables the sculptors to form a closer relationship with the stone they are carving, each of which have different properties. In a raw state many of the stones are very nondescript in appearance, rather like uncut diamonds but in the hands of a skilled carver the inner beauty in a myriad of different colours and natural striations is revealed. Sometimes the sculptor will leave some of the original surface of the stone providing…
Auction IndustrySummers Place Auctions’ First Auction Of The Decade Opens With a Mix of Decorative Pieces
The smallest of the Camden bronze friezes. They were all made in the late 20th century for the world-famous Camden Lock Market, one of London's most visited tourist attractions, but originally a horse hospital and warehouses close to Regent's Canal. The smallest frieze at 164cm long, carries an estimate of £800-1,200. All four areexpected to sell for upwards of £25,000 BILLINGSHURST.-Summers Place Auctions starts the decade with an auction with the variety clients are now expecting from the auction house. The sale will have a 13th century window and contemporary friezes from Camden Market displayed next to fossils and minerals, rockets and contemporary sculpture. The live auction will take place at the Sussex auction house on Tuesday, 24th March and the sealed bid auction finishes on Wednesday, 25th March 2020. The Camden bronze friezes come in four lots and bids can be left for all four or individual lots. They were all made in the late 20th century for the world-famous Camden Lock Market, one of London's most visited tourist attractions, but originally a horse hospital and warehouses close to Regent's Canal. The first lot comprising seven panels, over one metre high and almost 10 metres long, is estimate to sell for £8,000-12,000; a similar one - comprising four panels and almost 7 metres long - £6,000-10,000; an over 10 metre long seven panel-frieze £10,000-15,000 and the smallest frieze at 164cm long, carries an estimate of £800-1,200. All four are expected to sell for upwards of £25,000. Another lot with an important London connection is an extremely rare Coade stone bust of Gerard de Visme. Mrs Coade produced the famous Coade stones in her Lambeth Manufactory. This 29 cm high bust is of Gerard de Visme from 1793. He lived at Wimbledon Lodge, South Side, Wimbledon, which had been lavishly decorated in Coade stone. A French Huguenot born in London, he made his fortune in Portugal before returning to London, where he was partner in a banking firm. He died in 1797 and there are a few portraits of him in museums around the world. The bust is estimated to fetch…
