Buyer's guide
Garden antiques can be quite difficult to define, admits Rupert van der Werff, director of Summers Place Auctions, which lays claim to being the world's leading auctioneer of garden statuary. ‘The term covers Greek antiquities and also avant garde sculpture. Someone once quipped that we cover everything from Rome to chrome,’ he adds.
And casting an eye over Summers Place's most recent catalogue, it's clear that Rupert has a point. The sale encompassed a diverse collection of pieces, including traditional stone sculpture, weather vanes, an ornamental cast-iron bridge and a rather terrifying two-metre wide spider sculpture.
‘The nice thing about using garden antiques is there aren't strict rules,’ Rupert continues. ‘You're not as constrained as you are within a house.’
