Summers Place sealed bid auction
Bids opened 22 October 2014. Photos and catalogue descriptions courtesy and copyright Summers Place Auctions
Caen stone balustrade
Below: 25no balusters, capping and bases sold for £510
1850s zinc bath
Mid 19thC zinc bath with drain hole and tap, 64cms high by 157cms long sold for £550. We are guessing this was French or continental and had a zinc clad wooden base to which the sides were nailed, with a wood cover strip over. The X framing is a stiffener for the sides. Originally this bath was most likely set on a wheeled trolley, kept in a cupboard and wheeled to where it was needed.
Carved white marble Italian planter in the style of a Roman sarcophagus
Early 20thC with a seascape depicting putti and fish-tailed hippocamps, 47cms high by 200cms long by 22cms wide sold for £9,100 (est £5k - £8k). The catalogue stated:
In the funeral and burial practices of ancient Rome, elaborately carved marble and limestone sarcophagi were characteristic of the social elite from the 2nd to the 4th centuries AD. At least 10,000 Roman sarcophagi survive, with fragments possibly representing as many as 20,000. Although mythological scenes have been mostly widely studied, carved sarcophagus reliefs have been called the richest single source of Roman iconography, and may also depict the deceased's occupation or life course, military scenes, and other subject matter.
From the 17th century onwards it became fashionable for the British aristocracy to return from their Grand Tours of Italy with ancient Roman and Greek sculpture reaching its nadir in second half of the 18th century.
Sir William Hamilton, British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800 amassed a large collection of vases and antiquities, some of which were subsequently acquired by the British Museum. Likewise Italian sculptors and designers such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Bartolomeo Cavaceppi were restoring and in some cases faking ancient sculpture to satisfy the growing English market. By the end of the 19th century demand was considerably outstripping supply and a number of Italian sculptors were carving copies from scratch, as in this example, often distressing them to give the appearance of great antiquity. Some were sold as copies of Roman marble originals, whilst others were passed off as the real thing.
From the 17th century onwards it became fashionable for the British aristocracy to return from their Grand Tours of Italy with ancient Roman and Greek sculpture reaching its nadir in second half of the 18th century.
Sir William Hamilton, British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800 amassed a large collection of vases and antiquities, some of which were subsequently acquired by the British Museum. Likewise Italian sculptors and designers such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Bartolomeo Cavaceppi were restoring and in some cases faking ancient sculpture to satisfy the growing English market. By the end of the 19th century demand was considerably outstripping supply and a number of Italian sculptors were carving copies from scratch, as in this example, often distressing them to give the appearance of great antiquity. Some were sold as copies of Roman marble originals, whilst others were passed off as the real thing.
Modern painted pine dovecote
This 58ins wide painted pine dovecote, with seven roosts wide to the base and sides, and a wooden shingle roof (possibly not English) sold for £505 (est £400 - £600)
Scottish gothic cast iron seats
A pair of white painted gothic pattern, both seats replaced, 39ins wide sold for £3,300 (est £2,500 - £4,000).
Rarely marked for Scottish foundries, and if unmarked normally (wrongly in my view) attributed to the French tall wood-fired foundries of Val d'Osne, this pair of gothic seats, possibly dating from as early as the 1820s but catalogued as c1860, had knobbed bolted connections harking back to the first structural uses of cast iron at Coalbrookdale in the 1770s.
Both benches had a demi-lune plaque set in each back with the raised lettering EAGLE FOUNDRY No 2 GLASGOW which was started by James Edington, son of Thomas Edington of the Phoenix Foundry founded in 1804, and John McDowall at Port Dundas in 1820. James Edington was declared bankrupt by Scotch Sequestration in 1837 by which time the foundry became McDowall & Robertson, and by 1862 had become McDowall Steven & Co Ltd - the famed makers of Royal Mail post boxes, fountains, bandstands and structural ironwork.
Graces Guide: McDowall Steven & Co
Graces Guide: McDowall Steven & Co
Wrought and cast iron kissing gate
Later 19thC kissing gate with cast iron octagonal post, wrought iron gate and embrasure, the gate 57ins high by 36ins wide, sold for £905 (est £300 - £500).
The octagonal post is a stretched version of the ubiquitous cast iron octagonal bollard and would have been cast by a regional foundry, while the gate and embrasure was probably made by the local estate blacksmith.
Cast iron Irish stick stand
Umbrella stand with a figure of a Irishman in clover wielding a cudgel or shillelagh, cast iron 30ins high, raised lettering IRELAND and Erin Is My Home, sold for £1,180 (est £800 - £1,200)
Seventeen bronze planters from Camden Lock
Eight lots of two bronze planters, and a single lot, the planter with identical horse reliefs to the bodies, 39ins high, sold for a total £84,000 (est £6,400 - £10,000) for 17 planters - approx. £5,000 each.
The planters were part of a large group of sculpture and reliefs commissioned in the early 1990s as fixtures in and around the old stables and three storey market hall designed by the architect John Dickinson. Some Camden Lock lots were sold in the live auction the preceding day (see SalvoNEWS: Camden horses gallop away to £40k at Summers Place live auction).
Camden Lock market is set in the stables and hospital for ponies which worked pulling 19thC canal boats loaded with manufactured goods, materials and fuel, along the Grand Union canal from Birmingham to London.
Four large circular lead plaques representing the four Seasons
The roundels were 29ins diameter, featured reliefs emblematic of the four seasons after ones by the neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, and made in the later 20thC by the leadworking enterprise of H. Crowther Ltd of Chiswick. This was one of the more expensive of a group of lots from The Crowther Collection in this sale, and sold for £6,200 (est £2,000 - £4,000)
The Crowther Collection
James Rylands of Summers Place Auctions writes:When I held my first sale of Garden Statuary here at Summers Place under Sotheby’s auspices back in 1986, there were three branches of the Crowther family all plying their trade in London. All were descended from John and Mary Crowther who arrived in London in the 1860s with two sons and four daughters. By 1901 one of the sons, Thomas had moved to 282 Northend Road in Fulham selling fireplaces, garden ornament and architectural fittings before closing his doors in 1992.
Crowthers of Syon Lodge, located next to Syon House, sold an
even bigger range of garden ornament before finally
auctioning the residue of its stock with us in 2002. This just leaves the venerable firm of H.Crowther and Son,
established by Henry ‘Mash’ Crowther in 1908, at the same
premises it still occupies in Chiswick High Road, London.
From the beginning Mash specialised in making lead garden ornaments, a skill he had learnt from his father Tommy, who, at the advanced age of 60, took a stand at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1914 displaying lead ornament and wrought iron gates, which earned him a gold cup. It says something for the continuity of this branch of the family, that Mash’s grandson, Paul Crowther, the present proprietor of H.Crowther and Son, also exhibited his lead wares at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2007-2009, winning commendations as well as supplying the leadwork to Chris Beardshaw’s gold medal winning garden.
From the beginning Mash specialised in making lead garden ornaments, a skill he had learnt from his father Tommy, who, at the advanced age of 60, took a stand at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1914 displaying lead ornament and wrought iron gates, which earned him a gold cup. It says something for the continuity of this branch of the family, that Mash’s grandson, Paul Crowther, the present proprietor of H.Crowther and Son, also exhibited his lead wares at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2007-2009, winning commendations as well as supplying the leadwork to Chris Beardshaw’s gold medal winning garden.
Throughout the twentieth century, the company’s collection
played an important role for garden designers to draw upon. As
Gertrude Jekyll, the outstanding Edwardian garden designer
remarked, ‘There can scarcely be a doubt that the happiest
material for our garden sculpture and ornament is lead' … and it
was Crowthers who supplied lead statuary and ornament to
the newly created Jekyll gardens at Hestercombe, Sissinghurst
Castle and Hidcote Manor, to name but a few. Crowthers also
supplied pieces to many fine 18th century gardens being
restored; indeed it is said that there are few important
gardens where you cannot find at least one example of
Crowther’s work.
Paul wants to develop the workshops at the back of the garden and no longer needs the main house, since no family members are living in it, necessitating the emptying of the vaults, bringing to light a number of pieces which haven’t been seen for years including many of the plaster originals from which the moulds were made with which to cast the lead pieces.
Paul Crowther remarked, "I decided it was time to rationalize our family business which has been going in the same premises here in Chiswick for over 100 years. As a family, we no longer use the main house and vaults, which have become a treasure trove of old lead models and plaster moulds. We also felt that the pieces in our display garden, many of which have been here for up to 100 years and which have achieved a wonderful patina, were no longer representative of the new pieces we sell. In order to continue expanding our business, I need to concentrate on developing our workshops adjacent to the garden."
Paul wants to develop the workshops at the back of the garden and no longer needs the main house, since no family members are living in it, necessitating the emptying of the vaults, bringing to light a number of pieces which haven’t been seen for years including many of the plaster originals from which the moulds were made with which to cast the lead pieces.
Paul Crowther remarked, "I decided it was time to rationalize our family business which has been going in the same premises here in Chiswick for over 100 years. As a family, we no longer use the main house and vaults, which have become a treasure trove of old lead models and plaster moulds. We also felt that the pieces in our display garden, many of which have been here for up to 100 years and which have achieved a wonderful patina, were no longer representative of the new pieces we sell. In order to continue expanding our business, I need to concentrate on developing our workshops adjacent to the garden."
Acton Hall oak barn frame
A rare double aisled oak framed tithe barn, circa 1650. Length 121ft. Width 28ft (main aisle 16ft with each side aisle 6ft). Ridge 25ft 6in. Unsold (est £100,000)
Almost entirely in its original condition and dismantled more than 25 years ago. The barn originally would have had a thatched roof and walls of wattle and daub over the oak aisled wall frames. There were two main threshing bays, each with large double doors. Ten main bays (of approx. 12ft) formed by very substantial jowled oak posts connected to the arcade plate and tie beams by main mortise and tenon, subsidiary teazle tenon and lapped dovetail joints. Aisle wall frames of substantial oak studs. The main tie beams and arcade plates were supported and braced by mainly heavy curved braces, with a few replaced in the 19th century with solid knee braces.
Acton Hall is part of Acton Place, near Stowmarket, Suffolk, England. The site on which the barn originally stood was described in the Domesday Book as an extensive Manor known as the hall with capacious cleared farmlands, woodlands, barn stables, brew houses and livestock. It was the home of Henry Bourchier, second Earl of Essex during the early 14th century, a great friend of Henry VIII and Acton Hall was the first resting place of the young Catherine of Aragon when she first arrived in England to meet her future husband Henry VIII.
This lot was offered in a dismantled, fully numbered state and was viewable by appointment in Suffolk. Full plans were available of it prior to its dismantling and an estimate for its re-assembly by John Langdon of Heritage Oak Buildings in the region of £100,000 (in addition to the purchase cost).
(In the Daily Mail) John Langdon said the barn dated back to the mid-17th century when it would have been used as a tithe barn … it was dismantled about 25 years ago on a big farm estate where it was in the way of modern farm buildings … and was going to be sold off as individual timbers so he bought the lot, numbered it, dismantled it and found a new home for it with a brewery.
The plan was to use the barn for functions but the brewery could not find a site so eventually it asked John Langdon to buy it back.
He said, "The barn is made up of many tonnes of beams that we have been storing. It's like the ultimate Ikea flatpack, which is exactly how things were made back then. The only difference is that we will deliver it to the buyer and they won't need an Allen key to put it up - we will help re-erect it too. The barn is hugely historic - very few buildings last as long as its been around, and it will easily last another 500 years. The framework is hand hewn from oak and it is held together entirely with mortise and tenon oak pegs and it's in amazing condition. I can confidently say there will never be another barn like this come up for sale. It is an exceptional building, a unique situation and an absolute bargain."
Almost entirely in its original condition and dismantled more than 25 years ago. The barn originally would have had a thatched roof and walls of wattle and daub over the oak aisled wall frames. There were two main threshing bays, each with large double doors. Ten main bays (of approx. 12ft) formed by very substantial jowled oak posts connected to the arcade plate and tie beams by main mortise and tenon, subsidiary teazle tenon and lapped dovetail joints. Aisle wall frames of substantial oak studs. The main tie beams and arcade plates were supported and braced by mainly heavy curved braces, with a few replaced in the 19th century with solid knee braces.
Acton Hall is part of Acton Place, near Stowmarket, Suffolk, England. The site on which the barn originally stood was described in the Domesday Book as an extensive Manor known as the hall with capacious cleared farmlands, woodlands, barn stables, brew houses and livestock. It was the home of Henry Bourchier, second Earl of Essex during the early 14th century, a great friend of Henry VIII and Acton Hall was the first resting place of the young Catherine of Aragon when she first arrived in England to meet her future husband Henry VIII.
This lot was offered in a dismantled, fully numbered state and was viewable by appointment in Suffolk. Full plans were available of it prior to its dismantling and an estimate for its re-assembly by John Langdon of Heritage Oak Buildings in the region of £100,000 (in addition to the purchase cost).
(In the Daily Mail) John Langdon said the barn dated back to the mid-17th century when it would have been used as a tithe barn … it was dismantled about 25 years ago on a big farm estate where it was in the way of modern farm buildings … and was going to be sold off as individual timbers so he bought the lot, numbered it, dismantled it and found a new home for it with a brewery.
The plan was to use the barn for functions but the brewery could not find a site so eventually it asked John Langdon to buy it back.
He said, "The barn is made up of many tonnes of beams that we have been storing. It's like the ultimate Ikea flatpack, which is exactly how things were made back then. The only difference is that we will deliver it to the buyer and they won't need an Allen key to put it up - we will help re-erect it too. The barn is hugely historic - very few buildings last as long as its been around, and it will easily last another 500 years. The framework is hand hewn from oak and it is held together entirely with mortise and tenon oak pegs and it's in amazing condition. I can confidently say there will never be another barn like this come up for sale. It is an exceptional building, a unique situation and an absolute bargain."
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