Thoughts turn to the garden at the first sale of Spring

SPRING has sprung, and at the Cirencester saleroom of Moore Allen & Innocent thoughts were turning to the garden.

The top lot price of the day at the firm's first auction of the spring – on Friday, April 27 – was a three tier fountain in the neo-classical style.

The upper level featured dolphin heads held aloft by a classical figure.

The second tier, with similar fountain heads, was held aloft by a fluted column with three lions at its base.

And the lower tier was supported by three hippocampi on a plinth base.

Standing at 1.8 metres (just under six feet) tall the winning bidder paid £10 a centimetre with a winning bid of £1,800 – bang in the middle of the auctioneer's estimate.

The second highest lot price of the day also came from the garden: an armillary sphere sundial atop a natural stone pedestal with acanthus decoration to base raised on octagonal foot.

Surprising everyone, the lot achieved £1,450 against a modest £200 to £300 estimate.

Elsewhere in the gardens section planters were popular, with a Royal Doulton double sink making £100 and four chimney pots achieving £40, while auctioneers squeezed out a winning bid of £95 for two metal milk churns.

A painted metal circular table with five chairs achieved £85, while the gavel fell on a teak table with eight chairs by Neptune Classics at £560.

And a reconstituted stone figure of Aphrodite attracted a winning bid of £45.

Back inside the saleroom, it was indoor furniture that continued to attract the highest bids.

After six boxes of costume jewellery sold for £1,400 and a box of assorted pictures sold for £1,250 a set of 10 late Victorian oak framed dining chairs with lion mask floral and foliate carved back rails made £880, while a Victorian extending dining table – which at 2.4 metres could comfortably accommodate ten diners – achieved £680.

Meanwhile a set of eighteen oak high backed dining chairs in the 18th century taste, sold over three lots of six each, achieved £540 and £500 and £500 respectively, all sold to the same buyer.

A circa 1800 elm three-drawer dresser achieved £520, while a 19th century mahogany long case clock case with printed dial in the 19th century style by Big Ben Clocks of London chimed with bidders, selling for £440.

In all, nearly 600 lots were offered for auction and in excess of £47,000 of antiques were bought and sold.

The next sale is on Friday, May 18.