Cheffins

Cheffins was founded in 1825 and is a UK firm of valuers, surveyors, property advisers and auctioneers.

The company’s fine art auctioneers and valuers business is based in an office in Cambridge. Its sales include regular antiques and interiors auctions, fine art, art and design, specialist books, maps an prints, an oriental sale and a wine sale.


Sir Oswald Birley portrait

Paintings from Sir Oswald Birley’s manor house to go under the hammer at Cheffins

24 August 2023

A group of 23 works by Sir Oswald Birley and his wife Lady Rhoda Birley which were previously part of their personal collection at their Sussex home will be offered for sale at Cheffins in Cambridge on September 20.

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Racing pics in the running once again

24 July 2023

There was a time when historic racing pictures by a top name might have been priced close to six figures.

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Ivory laws hit Deco prices

17 July 2023

It’s no surprise that prices of Art Deco bronze and ivory figures have fallen sharply since US and UK laws on the sale of elephant ivory were tightened.

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How Vellacott made a clean start

19 June 2023

Fabrics, costumes and theatre set designer turned to painting when her work was destroyed by a bomb

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Brontë works hit saleroom heights

22 May 2023

Works by the three sisters including copies published under pseudonyms come to a Cambridge auction

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Gratitude for ‘zeal and intredipity’ in attacking women and children

15 May 2023

A hero to the establishment in 1819 but a villain to the common man then and to everyone today, William Scholes Withington was back in favour at Cambridge.

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A rural Essex man who loved the city

08 May 2023

'Cattle Market, Braintree' from 1937 is a trademark Edward Bawden image. But it is also the artist’s only pre-war editioned print.

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Turner and Wilkie turn up at auction

01 May 2023

Drawing four phone bidders plus online, a rediscovered early watercolour of Chepstow Castle by JMW Turner (1775-1851) led Cheffins’ latest fine art sale.

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Get your teeth into this royal memorabilia

01 May 2023

A Cambridge auction included a Buckingham Palace note-card scribbled on with pencil drawings by a young Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.

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Double values: Cedric Morris picture with another work on the back emerges in Cambridge

03 April 2023

Even in relatively strong sectors of the art market like Modern British pictures the twin attractions of market freshness and attainable estimates remain key factors.

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Tapes set Rod Stewart on road to stardom

27 March 2023

Shown here is the original 15ips (inches per second) tape of, by repute, Rod Stewart’s first recording on June 18, 1964, together with a second copy.

Jane Austen print

Jane Austen letter goes to her former house in deal brokered by Cheffins

23 March 2023

Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire has acquired a rare early example of a handwritten letter by the novelist after its sale was negotiated by Cambridge auction house Cheffins.

Turner's Chepstow Castle

Turner’s castle emerges in Cambridge saleroom

06 March 2023

An early watercolour of Chepstow Castle by JMW Turner (1775-1851) that was previously recorded but its whereabouts unknown has emerged in Cambridge.

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Reward for ‘reading the Riot Act’

06 March 2023

Cheffins’ sale of Jewellery, Silver & Watches on April 6 includes, as part of a 100-piece single-owner collection, this 145oz George III silver gilt presentation two-handled cup and cover.

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Navigate your way round Breitling Navitimer dial styles

27 February 2023

Over the years, the Navitimer has undergone a variety of cosmetic and mechanical changes. Pictured here are three iterations of the watch as it evolved across two decades.

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Hogarth among big names at Cheffins

27 February 2023

A tiny head study of a lady and her son by William Hogarth (1697-1764) is among the lots on offer at Cheffins’ fine art sale in Cambridge on March 22-23.

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Noble resident of County Wicklow for around 150 years

09 January 2023

A portrait of a noblewoman catalogued as by a follower of Frans Pourbus the Younger, dated 1615, emerged as one of the highlights at Cheffins (24.5% buyer’s premium) in Cambridge.

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Pick of the week: EH Shepard's Wind in the Willows drawing sells with a swagger at auction

19 December 2022

Since its first publication in 1908, Kenneth Grahame’s 'The Wind in the Willows' has appeared in various editions and reprints illustrated by nearly 50 artists.

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Is Small now hitting the big time?

28 November 2022

When coming across a female artist who was once quite recognised but now is rather little known, buyers today automatically ask the question: ‘Is she undervalued?’

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A £24,000 bid leads the Lionel Edwards hunt

28 November 2022

Among a number of sporting pictures generating decent interest at recent sales, this autumn Cheffins (24.5% buyer’s premium) posted the highest auction price for the hunting specialist Lionel Edwards (1878-1966) in over 12 years.

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