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A Native of Sierra Leone by Nathaniel Sparks

Nathaniel Sparks’ ‘masterpiece’ flies over estimate at Cambridge sale

06 June 2025

A work described ‘the masterpiece of Nathaniel Sparks (1880-1957)’ set a major record for the artist at Cheffins last month.

The Wife by Tirzah Garwood

Rediscovered Tirzah Garwood prints and drawings emerge at Cheffins

07 May 2025

The largest group of works by Tirzah Garwood (1908-51) to ever come on the open market in one go will be offered at Cheffins later this month.

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Topographical views of the East and India land impressive sums

05 May 2025

Result for album of watercolours underlines the current demand in salerooms for such subjects

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Cheffins: looking back on a rich 200-year history

24 March 2025

Cambridge auction house Cheffins is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.

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Early English oak carvings catch the eye at Chorley’s

02 December 2024

Pre-17th century English oak carving tends to generate a certain amount of market excitement on the basis that much less of it survives.

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Metal trunks prove popular in Cambridgeshire

27 August 2024

Behind the traditional frontage of Smithers of Stamford in the Cambridgeshire town of Etton lies a retro collector’s dream.

Gold Torc

Ancient gold objects stolen in brazen theft at Ely Museum

21 May 2024

Two valuable Bronze Age gold artefacts have been stolen from Ely Museum in Cambridgeshire.

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It’s a shore thing: Namikawa Yasuyuki Japanese cloisonné vase delights

05 February 2024

Namikawa Yasuyuki (1845-1927) is one of the most famous and highly regarded masters of the art of Japanese cloisonné.

Ann Forbes

Ann Forbes portraits show natural talent of an artist excluded from formal training

09 October 2023

While the Dundee-born painter Catherine Read (1723-78) is considered the first Scottish women to work as a professional artist, a close second was Ann Forbes (1745-1834).

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Meat and greet: butcher’s slabs display collecting popularity

24 July 2023

Victorian and Edwardian pottery butcher’s slabs made to display lard, butter and margarine are relatively frequent visitors to UK salerooms.

Peterborough Festival of Antiques

Easter’s Festival of Antiques at Peterborough to be the last

16 March 2023

The East of England Showground is to close and will no longer be able to host large-scale outdoor events, forcing International Antiques and Collectors Fairs (IACF) to stop running the long-standing Peterborough Festival of Antiques.

Martin Brothers' spoon warmer

Martin Brothers' grotesque grinner is a winner at auction

05 December 2022

An old family collection of Martin Brothers stonewares, assembled with purchases from the Southall potters in the late 19th and early 20th century, was offered in Cambridgeshire.

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Dealer's London buying trip led to Venice

21 November 2022

Expecting to collect a bureau advertised on marketplace Gumtree, a dealer spotted two 18th century Venetian scenes leaning against a wall in the home he visited.

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Traveller finds a new angle at auction

25 April 2022

Bearing a very modest estimate of just £20-30, this copy of The Angler in Ireland: or An Englishman’s Ramble through Connaught and Munster, during the Summer of 1833 was bid to £700 in a March 12 sale held by Rowley’s (22.5% buyer’s premium) of Ely.

Charles Darwin’s ‘Tree of Life’ notebook

‘Happy Easter’ after Darwin books returned

11 April 2022

The book trade has called for institutions to be more proactive in reporting missing items after two notebooks belonging to Charles Darwin were mysteriously returned to Cambridge University Library.

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Japanese new weave wave

04 April 2022

During the Meiji period, the Kyoto artist and entrepreneur Nishimura Sozaemon (1855-1935) used Western mechanised weaving techniques to develop new styles of Japanese decorative textiles.

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'Cambridge is completely transformed' says organiser of new Eclectic Eye fair

24 January 2022

New fair organiser says university city is now a huge market thanks to high-tech developments

Cheffins items in a Suffolk cottage

Interior design duo team up with Cheffins for December sale

30 November 2021

Cambridge auction firm Cheffins is working with interior design “power couple” Benedict Foley and Daniel Slowik to promote its next auction.

Elizabeth Yorke

National Trust property secures 18th-century portrait destined for auction after anonymous donor steps in

18 November 2021

A portrait by renowned society artist Thomas Hudson (1701-79) has been secured for National Trust property Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire.

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Cambridgeshire dealer spots clock and table sleepers at auctions

30 August 2021

A rare early 18th century folding table and a William III clock were spotted at recent auctions by a Cambridgeshire dealer.