Nature and stone

10:52am Thursday 12th June 2008

HELEN PEACOCKE is beguiled by the sculpture exhibition at Asthall Manor

You can't miss Asthall Manor as two colossal forms by sculptor Anthony Turner sit firmly on the gateposts, announcing to those passing that modern sculptures can sit comfortably within the confines of a 17th-century manor house.

Asthall Manor in Asthall, near Burford, was the childhood home of the Mitford sisters - Nancy, Pamela, Jessica, Diana, Unity and Deborah - until 1926. It's now the home of Rosie Pearson, who bought the manor in 1997.

Thanks to her vision and the skills of gardening designers Isobel and Julian Bannerman, the manor's glorious garden now flows quite naturally into a Windrush Valley landscape and without the use of a Ha-Ha. Sloping box parterres, long tranquil walks bordered with sharp wedges of yew, vast beeches enclosing a hidden lake and orchards winding down through a wild flower meadow to a mill stream make this a garden of constant surprises, fascinating little corners and secret places.

It has a timeless air, yet within this tranquil and quintessential English space, sits a collection of stone sculptures that simply beg to be touched and admired.

How remarkable that such works can sit happily alongside the honey-coloured Cotswold stone of the manor, which is festooned with roses.

It's Dominic Welch's Cetacean Plume in Kilkenny limestone, that dominates the main lawn. Its large fish-like form with ornate tail sets the scene, illustrating the way nature and stone can stand together.

Next comes Nigel Watson's powerful heads Unclean, created from Bath stone and Headstand carved from Hartham park stone.

At this point visitors are free to wander the gardens, where they will encounter such forms as Rest by William Peers, who works mainly in Portuguese marble. This remarkable piece, which appears to be a box on which a cloth has been carefully placed, cries out to be touched, as it's only then you realise the entire piece is crafted from glistening marble known for its irregularity of colour and tones.

Walk on to the rear of the manor with its ornate box hedging and you will discover Bridget McCrum's superb Mythical Horses, carved out of Kilkenny limestone, which appears to be struggling to rise from the earth in which they are buried.

As the sun moves its position over the manor garden so the sharp shadows cast upon these sculptures add their own creative touch, such that the sculptured forms standing besides and within the herbaceous beds, the lavenders, pelargoniums, irises and peonies are constantly changing.

On Form 08, an exhibition of 50 stone sculptures, is open Wednesdays to Sundays until July 6 from noon to 6pm.

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