AMSTERDAM.-Sculptures, ornaments, fountains, finials, vases, planters, urns, basins, sundials, keystones and garden seats, will be offered at Sotheby’s Amsterdam on Wednesday 30 May 2007. It is the third time that Sotheby’s in Amsterdam devotes a sale to the subject of garden sculpture and architectural ornaments from the Piet Jonker Collection.

The sale offers an abundance of various stone, bronze, lead and cast iron sculptures of classical maidens, gods, goddesses and putti, and a choice of fountains, planters, urns, gates and finials.

Notable pieces include two series of impressive representations of the Four Seasons, including a set of four white marble figures (€40.000 – 60.000).

There are carved limestone animals, including a winged lion (€5.000 – 7.000) and a boar (€6.000 – 8000). An attractive pair of limestone reclining greyhounds is estimated €2.500 – 3.500. Very attractive is a carved limestone jardinière in the form of three frolicking putti supporting a shallow bowl (€15.000-20.000).

Fountains include such decorative items as a carved stone fountain figure of a fish (€800 – 1.200), a composition stone fountain figure in the form of a little boy carrying a swan (€1.000 – 1.500) and a Belgian bronze sculpture of a boy riding a turtle, by Eugène Caneel (1882 – 1966) dating from circa 1910. is estimated €8.000 – 12.000

Very unusual and impressive item in this Garden Statuary sale at Sotheby’s Amsterdam is a rare and impressive ‘Pleasure Garden’ consisting of two galleries of twelve loggia-covered columns each, a pair of reclining sphinxes with putti on their backs, a sculpture of Pan playing the flute, wth a putto on his back begging us to be silent, and a sculpture of Venus, kissed by a young Amor, together with a large stone bench and jardinières. This monumental set in composite stone from circa 1840 covers a space of circa twenty by twenty meters and is estimated €150.000-180.000.

Decorative sculpture and ornaments for the garden and terrace are in growing demand. The combination of nature and man-made artefacts results in surprising and exciting scenery. In summer, surrounded by flowering plants and green shrubbery, sculpture shows at its finest. But also in winter, when the skies are grey and the gardens are empty and bare, an elegant sculpture or a good ornament can make a world of difference.

The Piet Jonker Collection - From the beautiful estate Lindenhoff in Baambrugge near Abcoude ( Netherlands ), Piet Jonker leads a renowned international enterprise that is specialised in historic building materials such as flag stones, wooden floors, chimneys and wall tiles. In the 1990s a visit to Sotheby’s Billingshurst, situated in a country house surrounded by beautiful gardens in West Sussex (UK), opened his eyes to the beauty of garden sculpture set in the right environment. Piet Jonker expanded his collection with stone sculpture and ornaments and displayed these in a Renaissance garden especially designed for this purpose.

Piet Jonker is exited by the challenge to compile a sale of garden ornaments every two years. Sales such as this have been popular in England and in the southern European countries for many years.

Piet Jonker says: “The garden has never been out of fashion but today it is probably more popular than ever before. Much enthusiasm is being expressed for garden ornament and decoration in the form of a marble sculpture, a cast iron urn or a wrought iron garden seat. For gardeners looking for something light-hearted, the sale offers delightful items such as a double fountain from circa 1910, in the shape of a white marble, water spitting Bacchus herme and a small bronze boy who laughingly opens the tap to spray water on the old Bacchus. This fountain of Carrara marble and patinated bronze on a square base in a low basin is 160cm high could be obtained for €20.000 – 25.000.”

Viewing on location: 25 to 28 May at Piet Jonker, Rijksstraatweg 23, Baambrugge (near Abcoude), daily from 10am to 5pm. Sale at Sotheby’s Amsterdam: Wednesday 30 May 2007 at 2pm and 7pm.