NEWBURY.- On 23rd May 2017, Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions will host an auction of the Piet Jonker Collection of architectural and garden ornament, providing a superb opportunity for those looking for unusual and impressive garden features and design pieces. The sale, comprising of some 300 lots and with estimates ranging from £250 - £100,000, will take place at Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire (1pm), with the entire sale on view in The Netherlands at Rijksstraatweg 23, 1396 JC Baambrugge from Friday 19th May – Monday 22nd May 2017.

Piet Jonker has a renowned and deservedly respected eye for high quality garden ornament and architectural pieces, trawling the estates of Continental Europe for exceptional and often unique pieces. His collection covers all areas of estate ornamentation from complete structures like gazebos, orangeries and gloriettes, to delicately finished cast iron seats and planters.

One exceptional piece is a 19th century French ashlar cut limestone Gloriette. Gloriette takes its name from the 12th century French word ‘gloire’ which means ‘little room’. These attractive garden buildings are a popular choice for those looking to add an architectural feature to their grounds, as they are slightly raised to provide the best view of the surroundings. This particular Gloriette is of heptagonal form measuring 366cm wide and 784cm high overall (est. £80,000-100,000).

Two 20th century Continental carved limestone garden seats serve as stand out items in the seating category. The first has a gentle curved form with an elegant arched back rest running to stylised foliate finials at each end. The piece is styled with guilloche scrolled armrests on winged lion supports (est. £5,000-8,000). Another carved limestone garden seat is in the distinctive Louis XV style (pictured) with an arched backrest complete with scrolls above an inverted scallop shell (est. £3,000-5,000).

Of the statues on offer, highlights include a pair of Italian sculpted limestone models of Juno and Minerva, each depicted with the birds with which they are associated: Juno with a peacock and Minerva with a bird of prey. The goddesses are portrayed standing and draped in fabric (est.£20,000-30,000). Another highlight is a striking, sculpted marble model of the foot of Hermes in Roman style shown with winged sandal, measuring 75cm high and 130cm long (est. £10,000-15,000).

Also featured in the sale this May is a pair of French cast iron models of Nymphs, both portrayed standing and draped. The pair, dated circa 1870, stand at 127 and 125cm high respectively and come from the highly respected Val D’Osne foundry in the Haute-Marne territory in northeast France (est. £15,000-25,000).

Free standing fountains and wall fountains are well represented in the sale, as are garden scientific instruments such as sundials and armillary spheres. A charming sculpted limestone wall fountain modelled with a partially draped maiden who is portrayed standing and holding a jar above a rockwork plinth (est. £8,000-12,000) is a further highlight. Piet’s interest in figural and animal sculpture soon becomes apparent when browsing through his extraordinary collection which caters to a range of tastes and styles. A striking example is an Austrian painted terracotta model of a seated hound with inset glass eyes and portrayed wearing a leather collar, 98cm high, 73cm long (est. £4,500-6,500).