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Press Kit
GARDEN TRADITIONS COMPANY BACKGROUNDER
In 2006, Barbara Israel established Garden Traditions, a line of garden ornaments
modeled directly from antique originals in her collection. Each piece is chosen for its fine
workmanship and superb design, and reflects the aesthetic sensibility of Barbara's twenty years of
experience as one of the foremost antique garden ornament dealers in the field.
Garden Traditions provides Old-World elegance at affordable prices, giving garden owners a
unique opportunity to acquire replicas with the historical significance and exceptional quality for
which the Barbara Israel Garden Antiques collection is so celebrated.
The Garden Traditions inaugural collection, available in Spring 2008, includes a pair of Lions
of Hadrian, a Molded Pedestal (for the Lion of Hadrian) the Somerset Maiden, the Dorset Maiden, a
Classical Wreathed Pedestal (for the Maidens), a Japanese Buddhist Monk, a pair of Koji Lions, the
Hawthorne Bench, the Greenway Birdbath, the Westford Spaniel, the Donatello Lion Mask, the Cynara
Finial, a Pulham Pedestal (for the Cynara Finial), a pair of Mount Holly Squirrels, the Egremont
Hare, and the Arcadian Snail. A large planter, and a sundial will be added to the line in the
coming months.
Each reproduction is individually wet-cast in superior composition stone, a method that captures
the most intricate details of each original. Everything that comprises the physical characteristics
of the antique from chisel marks and rough surfaces to the texture of the original material is
passed along in the casting. The collection is produced in New York State, affording Barbara Israel
a unique level of oversight and quality control, ensuring that these ornaments are the true
descendants of their antique ancestors.
The Garden Traditions grouping will be offered in two naturalistic and historically accurate
colors, each of which permeates the entire casting, guaranteeing a uniform color throughout.
European-inspired pieces from the collection are cast in a buff color reminiscent of quarried
limestone. Asian-inspired ornaments are produced in a grayish tone that evokes the Eastern
tradition of carving in granite.
It is the ambition of Garden Traditions that these reproductions will allow all homeowners the
opportunity to enhance their gardens with faithful reproductions of rare antiques.
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