Bidders buy for sunny gardens

THE sun shone brightly on bargain hunters arriving at Moore Allen & Innocent’s Cirencester saleroom for the first auction of May, so it was no surprise that outdoor furniture and ornaments sold so well.

Among the best achieving lots was a slatted teak bench in the manner of the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, which sold for £400 against an estimate of £200 to £300 – not bad, considering you can spend the same at your local DIY warehouse on a flat-pack in the manner of Allen Key.

Meanwhile, a cast iron garden bench in an oak leaf and acorn design in the Coalbrookdale manner sold for £360, against a £200 to £300 estimate.

Elsewhere, pairs of cast iron garden urns made between £75 and £230, whilst children’s toy cars designed for garden use went down a storm – a mid-20th century metal Jeep achieving £110, a similar red Ferrari making a whopping £230 and a modern plastic, battery-operated Mercedes 300SL making £90.

Indoor pieces sold well too, though. The top-seller of the day was a Vienna-type walnut cased regulator, which made £740 against an estimate of £100 to £150; probably, explained auctioneer Philip Allwood, because of its excellent eight-day mechanism. And a mahogany Carlton House desk in the Georgian taste sold for £620 against an estimate of £300 to £500.

Finally, a collection of six bottles of vintage Scottish malt whiskies in a presentation display stand sold for £240, right in the middle of the £200 to £300 estimate. Perhaps they were bought by one of the new owners of the benches, who can enjoy a scotch over ice as the sun sets over their garden.

A collection of children’s toy cars
A slatted teak bench in the manner of Lutyens	A Vienna-type walnut cased regulator