That’s My Lots – James Rylands of Summers Place Auctions

With their upcoming garden and natural history sale taking place in March, auctioneer James Rylands of Summers Place Auctions in West Sussex chooses his favourite lots. 

Sunrise by David Williams-Ellis – estimate £10,000 to £15,000

We have some real conversation pieces among the sculptures in our March auction and I am really pleased with the selection of sculptures we have included in this sale.

This figural piece entitled Sunrise by David Williams-Ellis, one of this country’s leading contemporary sculptors, stands an impressive 360cms high.

Horse statue – estimate £20,000 to £25,000

We sold some wonderful horse statues a couple of years ago and they were a real success, so I am obviously pleased that a few more are coming up for auction now. I particularly like this one as it is more of an ‘action’ sculpture – it is a beautiful life-size bronze.

Regency garden seat – estimate £2,500 to £4,000

Garden seats are always popular and this reeded, wrought iron one dates to the Regency period. It is particularly rare due to its elaborate decoration and the fact that most have rusted away over the years. The estimate reflects this.

Stone mushrooms – estimate £800 to £1,200

I love these wacky, painted, composition stone mushrooms measuring nearly two metres wide, made in France in the mid-20th century. They would look great in a kitchen garden and would be a lot cheaper than some truffles!

Taxidermy jaguar – estimate £5,000 to £8,000

I know taxidermy is not everyone’s cup of tea, but every now and again you see some extremely well-prepared examples that simply lets animals live on. This full mount jaguar is a prime example of such a work.