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.


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Royal Alice sets sail ‘on sailcloth’ as naïve paintings charm bidders

24 April 2026

Among the most intriguing naïve pictures sold recently was a simple and ostensibly unassuming painting of a ship offered at a recent Dominic Winter (22% buyer’s premium) auction.

Miss Vernon

Rediscovered portraits by Romney and Raeburn emerge at auctions this spring

10 April 2026

Mark the diary for the appearance of two notable British portraits at auction in Paris and in Cambridge.

Stepney Tyres sign

Bulldog spirit drives sign to £71,000 record

27 March 2026

An extensive collection of automobilia housed in not one but two Cambridgeshire barns included an eye-catching example of the most sought-after British enamel signs.

Stepney Tyres sign

Huge automobilia ‘barn find’ was more of a ‘two-barn find’

27 March 2026

A record price will always stand out, but this comprehensive collection also boasted a much wider range of strong prices underlying a buoyant market

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Buchinger drawing on offer in Cambridge

13 March 2026

A rare drawing by Matthias Buchinger (1674-1740), the remarkable 18th-century German artist born without hands or feet, is going under the hammer at Cheffins on March 25 estimated at £1000-1500.

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Two hundred reasons to celebrate

06 February 2026

Cambridge auction house Cheffins marked its 200-year anniversary by raising £270,596 for charity in the region – exceeding its original bicentenary fundraising pledge by over £70,000.

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Not one but two Duncan Grant studies for Sussex murals emerge

30 January 2026

Preparatory works by the Bloomsbury artist were created for spectacular works at Berwick church

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Meet the parents: a pair of Jan de Bray portraits catch the eye

16 January 2026

Poignant paintings make highest auction sum for the artist outside London

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Ashbee and Knox mix the old and modern

01 December 2025

Charles Robert Ashbee’s pseudo medieval wirework silver and glass jugs and bottles rank among the Guild of Handicraft’s finest work.

Vecchio Sultano by Salvador Dali

Rediscovered Dali bought by dealer for £150 makes £34,000 at Cambridge auction

28 October 2025

An original work by Salvador Dali discovered in a Cambridge-based house clearance made a major return for the vendor at Cheffins on October 23.

French map

Pick of the week: Mapping out the Jacobite dream

20 October 2025

The latest Library Sale at Cheffins in Cambridge included a rare French map documenting the campaign of ‘Charles Edward Prince de Galles’ in 1745-46.

Vecchio Sultano by Salvador Dali

Rediscovered Salvador Dali picture among five lots to watch

20 October 2025

With estimates from £300, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week

The Goldweigher by Rembrandt

Rare Rembrandt counterproof emerges in Cambridge

17 October 2025

As followers of Old Master prints are well aware, Rembrandt (1606-69) etchings appear at auction with great regularity with the most sought after subjects and earliest states commanding impressive prices.

Portrait by Rosalba Carriera

Rosalba Carriera portrait sets auction record at Cheffins

17 September 2025

Underlining the current demand for works by female Old Masters, a portrait of an English MP set an auction record for the Italian artist Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757) at Cheffins.

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Sparks ignites more sale interest

15 September 2025

Artist’s masterpiece sold earlier this year is followed up by plates, prints and paintings from same source

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Silver with scandalous ladies and ducal provenances

15 September 2025

Silver flatware once owned by the so-called Ladies of Llangollen was offered in Cheffins’ (25% buyer’s premium) latest Jewellery, Silver & Watches auction in Cambridge.

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Wilde and Monet photographs bring in the big money in Cambridge

11 August 2025

A signed postcard of Oscar Wilde from an image by Alfred Ellis of Baker Street impressed in a timed online sale at Cheffins (25% buyer’s premium).

Woodland in Fulbourn

Cambridgeshire woodland opens to mark Cheffins 200th anniversary

09 July 2025

A new swathe of woodland in Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire has been planted as part of estate agents and auction house Cheffins’ 200-year anniversary.

Neil Lanham

New book goes behind the scenes in the auction world over the past 70 years

09 July 2025

Auctioneer Neil Lanham publishes a “chronicle of country life, auctioneering and world record prices spanning more than 70 years”

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Largest Tirzah Garwood group to emerge in one go sets a test of the market

16 June 2025

The most extensive selection of works to come on the open market provides an opportunity to assess the market for the Modern British print specialist

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