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.
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