From Friday, April 29 to Sunday, May 1, 2011, The New York Botanical Garden will host its 19th annual Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale. Show hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. As the country’s original, largest, and most important venue for authentic garden antiques, the show is a must for leading collectors and designers as well as buyers seeking expert advice.

The show opens with a Benefit Preview Party and Collectors’ Plant Sale on Thursday, April 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. Garden antique specialists will offer tours and booth talks daily as well as assist buyers looking for the perfect piece to complement a garden, landscape, or interior. Complimentary tea and wine tastings will be held in the entrance tent, and the show will have special activities for very young collectors throughout the weekend.

This year’s 35 exhibitors will feature antique cast iron and marble fountains, antique wicker furniture, cast iron and stone garden seating, statues, urns and vases, birdcages and birdbaths, gates, trellises, aquariums, antique lanterns and other outdoor lighting, and architectural ornament. Objects in the show date from lat 17th century botanical prints to mid 20th century American, French, and English garden furniture; many pieces are signed and retain original paint or finishes. America’s leading experts in garden ornament (including show co-chairs Barbara Israel Garden Antiques and Bunny William’s Treillage, Ltd.) are joined this year by French Country Living Antiques from Mougins, France; Blithewold Home of Mount Kisco, New York, and Suzanne Golden Antiques based in New York City.

Some of this year’s highlights at the Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale are: Goddesses at the Garden include a life-size zinc figure of the goddess of the hunt known as Diana de Gabies at Kate A. Alex and Co. of Warner, New Hampshire. The original, a Roman copy of the Greek statue by Praxiteles, was excavated by Gavin Hamilton in 1792 on Prince Camillo Borghese’s property at Gabii outside of Rome. In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte purchased the statute from the Prince (his brother in-law); it has resided at the Louvre since 1820. This version was found on an estate in San Francisco. This popular figure was reproduced in many sizes and mediums; a plaster cast of this same Diana will be offered by R T Facts Antiques of Kent, Connecticut. This c. 1900 cast is stamped “CAPRONI CAST, P.P. CAPRONI & BRO MAKERS BOSTON U.S.A.” Fleur of Mt. Kisco, New York, specializing in garden antiques fro France will exhibit an early to mid-20th c. composite stone statue of the goddess Venus Genetrix. A goddess-like carved marble set of statues of the Four Seasons will be shown at Aileen Minor Antiques of Centreville, Maryland.

Lions, tigers…and dogs at the Garden include a carved marble tiger at Barbara Israel Garden Antiques of Katonah, New York. Captured mid-stride and on the hunt, with stylized articulated musculature, the tiger sculpture was made in England c. 1890 (21’’ high x 55 “ long x 15” wide). French Country Living Antiques, Ltd. of Mougins, France will present a stone lion sculpture with a regal crown from Burgundy, France, c. 1695 (29.1” high x 36.6” wide x 12.2” deep). Michael Trapp of West Cornwall, Connecticut will feature 19th c. Italian terracotta jars with lion’s paw feet. Treillage, Ltd. of New York, New York, has a pair of early 20th c. cast stone dogs. A pair of life-sized, weathered cast stone Chows will join the menagerie at the booth of The Sugarplum of Wilmot, New Hampshire. Tending the animals is a diminutive 19th c. stone shepherd at Aileen Minor Antiques, made after John Cheere (1709-1787).

And for the horses:
Red Horse Antiques of Bridgewater, Vermont, will bring a 7’ long limestone horse trough with original tether ring from France. Garden and veranda seating includes an unusual pair of hand woven wicker rocking chairs at Antique American Wicker of Nashua, New Hampshire. Made c. 1880 by the Wakefield Rattan Company of Wakefield, Massachusetts, the rockers are decorated in an interlocking wedding ring design, with handcaned backs depicting a banjo and guitar with press caned seats. Dawn Hill Antiques of New Preston, Connecticut will show a pair of ornate cast iron, c. 1900 American garden settees in the "Renaissance scroll” pattern. Barbara Israel Garden Antiques will feature a c. 1880 cast iron Gothic Revival seat made in Glasgow, Scotland and marked “Eagle Foundry/No. 2./Glasgow” (36” high, 40” wide, 22” overall depth, 17” seat depth). Treillage, Ltd. will show a c. 1880 stamped French set of four wrought iron folding chairs, a 19th c. English hewn stone bench, and a mid 20th c. English cast stone faux bois table.

Architectural pieces include a colorful cold painted wrought bronze conservatory gate from Great Neck, New York to be shown by Village Braider Antiques of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Ani Ancient Stone of New York, New York, will feature a pair of early 20th century barn doors from Eastern Europe. Joseph Stannard Antiques & Design of Norfolk, Connecticut will display a pair of large early 19th c. zinc finials from France (28” wide, 51” high). Barbara Israel Garden Antiques has a c. 1870 carved Cotswold stone finial on pedestal (78” high, pedestal 24” square at top, 22” square at bottom). Seasoned exhibitor Brennan and Mouilleseaux of Northfield, Connecticut, will feature a 10-foot-wide 1950s bamboo and wicker pagoda with an authentic, weathered surface.

Fountains can be found throughout the show Balsamo Antiques of New York City and Pine Plains, New York will display a c. 1950 composite stone fountain and surround from Belgium; the surround is 10' diameter x 9" deep; the fountain is 57" high. Fountains are featured at the booths of Francis J. Purcell, Inc. of Philadelphia Pennsylvania and Joan Bogart Antiques.

Containers for flowers and plants include a pair of cast iron urns signed “Hecla NY,” at Joan Bogart Antiques of Oceanside, New York and a c. French cast iron urn one at Eleanor and David Billet Antiques LLC of New York, New York. Schorr & Dobinsky of Bridgehampton, New York will exhibit a pair of early 20th c. large-scale cast stone planters from England.

Flowers that bloom year round include the botanical prints offered by antique print specialist Danielle Ann Millican of Florham Park, New Jersey who will feature Pierre Joseph Redoute’s (1759-1840) hand finished stipple engravings Choix des Plus Belles Fleurs, 1827-33, Panckoucke, Paris, printed by Langlois (144 plates, 9.5” x 13” unframed). Trifles of Arrowsic, Maine will exhibit 18th c. floral Chinese painting, oil on paper, mounted to original canvas.

The Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale takes place in a tent surrounded by flowering trees, plants, and shrubs outside the landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The fee of $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $7 for children for an All-Garden Pass includes access to the show, Botanical Garden grounds, Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Rock Garden, Native Plant Garden, Tram Tour, and Everett Children’s Adventure Garden. Advance tickets are available online at www.nybg.org

Preview Party ticket prices start at $200 per person and offer enthusiasts and collectors the opportunity to view the antiques and plants, make early purchases, and enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. For Preview Party tickets and information, please call 718.817.8885.

The Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale is the ideal venue for learning about garden antiques and building personal collections. On site shippers are available to assist with tri-state deliveries throughout the show and other shipping needs.

The New York Botanical Garden is a museum of plants located at Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road. It is easy to reach by Metro-North Railroad or subway. The Garden is open year-round, Tuesday through Sunday and Monday federal holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The best way to enjoy the Garden is with the All-Garden Pass, which includes admission to the grounds as well as to seasonal
gardens, exhibitions, and attractions such as the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, Rock Garden, and Tram Tour: $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students with ID, $8 for children ages 2–12, free for children under 2. A Grounds-Only Pass is also available: $6 for adults, $5 for adult Bronx Residents; $3 for seniors and students with ID, $1 for children ages 2–12, free for children under 2. Grounds-only admission is free all day on Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. For more information, please call 718.817.8700 or visit nybg.org.

The New York Botanical Garden is located on property owned in full by the City of New York, and its operation is made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. A portion of the Garden’s general operating funds is provided by The New York City Council and The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The Bronx Borough President and Bronx elected representatives in the City Council and State Legislature provide leadership funding.