Client
I hope this email finds you well.
To dispel the gloomth, a refresh of our latest garden ornament perhaps... however before I start to ramble on, a couple of dates for your dairy:
Our new Handmade Garden Collections Catalogue will be published in January and sent out to those who are on our mailing list and those who request one, with a digital version for everyone.
Back to its normal date in January, the London Art Fair will be our next exhibition, with fine works and some surprises to delight on the day for the Modern British Art collectors among you.
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To all things garden and here a selection of new and interesting items:
A fine Carolean – the one before! – lead cistern, dated 1677. This rare survivor (so many were melted down as the knowledge of how harmful lead was in the water supply became apparent) hails from the Exeter region, exemplified by its distinctive geometric pattern with decorative shell and flower motifs.
Another lead cistern dated 1691 from the William and Mary period, however, this time with the more familiar parterre pattern embellished with putti on dolphins, Fleur-de-Lys, starfish and fish fish…
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One more cistern in the group, this time of triangle form for a corner. Though undated, this example hails from the end of the 18th Century and a perfect Christmas gift for anyone who has the initials B. S. – a small but refined market!
Seats and benches – iron, cast iron and an elegant Edwardian semi-circular carved Portland stone seat, that is surprisingly comfortable.
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An Italian cistern carved from a single block of Istrian stone (sometimes called marble) in the Byzantine style, having multiple depictions of beasties and birdies within sugar twist columned colonnades, acanthas scrolls and Greek key bands of carving. A similar example can be seen in the gardens of Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, once the home and now the museum of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.
Austin & Seeley, the company responsible for most of the garden ornament in Regents Park, were prolific in the mid-19th century, supplying ornament and fountains to houses great and smaller… Here a pair of cherubs playing or fighting with a bunch of grapes, possibly a tenuous allusion to Bacchus. These being the same model as drawn and offered to Lady Pembroke at Wilton House, Wiltshire, with a group extant at Ribston Hall in North Yorkshire. My thanks here to John Davis and his wonderful book Antique Garden Ornament.
Also, a lion and lioness described in the Austin & Seeley catalogue, however not illustrated – no tails, but they can be re-instated upon request.
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Urns and finials – here an impressive terracotta pedestal urn by Blanchard for a bold central feature, and a pair of Adam style lead finials with flambeau lids for that little extra(!) to flank an entrance or gateway.
Our regular selection of troughs various, but here also some more rock in the form of Tufa for your dream grotto, once displayed as shown at Chelsea Flower Show, all the rocks have been pinned where required ready to recreate a mini Stourhead.
For a more open water feature, a French cast iron fountain head in the form of bulrushes, with another French cast iron figure of a large putto holding aloft a shell, which can be both fountain or planter as required – both can be repainted to the colour of the day.
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And to end – sheeps! A crossover here from the Modern British side of AH however a welcome interloper in the shape of a characterful flock tightly packed together; you can almost hear the noise of them all gathered up, something we are quite familiar with here high up on the Cotswold Hills.
If you have made it this far, I appreciate your time and thank you for your kind support. As always, if you would like to know more about any item, be they Antique, Modern British, or Garden Collections, please do just say.
All best regards
Alex
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