Fine Furniture
We hold specialist fine furniture auctions four times a year and offer a free valuation, online, in person or by home visit, on items considered for sale. Our sales feature well-known cabinetmakers including Gillows of Lancaster, Edwards & Roberts, Howard & Sons and Maple & Co.
Our fine furniture auctions feature 18th- and 19th-century pieces, with demand strongest for items showing rarity, craftsmanship and good provenance. Our specialists have experience across Georgian, Victorian, Regency and Continental styles, which supports accurate cataloguing and condition reporting. Items by named cabinetmakers such as Gillows of Lancaster, Edwards & Roberts, Howard & Sons, Maple & Co. and Waring & Gillow consistently attract interest.
Whether you are an established collector, an interior designer or a first-time bidder, our auctions cover a wide range of furniture. Recent sales include an Edwards & Roberts serpentine-front display cabinet at £3,400 and a late 19th-century Howard & Sons upholstered sofa at £8,900. A boulle commode drew international bidding and sold to a French collector for £17,000.
The landscape of traditional British and European antique furniture has shifted over the past generation, with changing interior trends and contemporary design influencing the broader market. The appetite for quality has not disappeared.
We continue to see steady demand for 18th- and 19th-century pieces with rarity, craftsmanship and good provenance.
Current trends favour smaller-scale items that suit modern homes, along with original upholstery, untouched finishes and patina.
Condition consistent with age is expected, but integrity matters. Restoration, alterations, missing veneer, replaced handles and structural issues all affect price. Hand-carving, inlay, marquetry, boulle work and cabinet-maker signatures all add to it.
Department specialists
What's selling well
A snapshot of what's attracting strong interest in our recent fine furniture sales.
Explore the fine furniture directory
Discover information on all the artists and makers we've sold.
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Late 19th century upholstered sofa, Howard & Son's Ltd.
Late 19th century upholstered sofa, sprung seat, back and arms, two loose feather filled cushions, all standing on four square section tapering legs with brass articulated castors stamped with makers name, one leg…
Sold for: £8,900
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Boulle commode (sold to a French collector after international bidding)
Offered in our Fine Furniture sale, this boulle commode drew international bidding and sold to a buyer in France for £17,000, a reminder that the right piece finds buyers well beyond the UK.
Sold for: £17,000
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French Writing desk by Edwards & Roberts
Late Victorian French kingwood writing desk stamped Edwards & Roberts, central bevelled glass mirror flanked by red marble tops with pierced brass galleries, over two columns of four drawers with a central glass-topped…
Sold for: £750
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Late 18th-century Italian commode chest
Late 18th-century Italian commode chest, with quartered veneers various hardwoods, top with central rosette framed with cross-banding, fitted one shallow and two deeper drawers with classical urn and swag inlaid…
Sold for: £5,300
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Late 19th-century Howard & Sons upholstered sofa
Sold for: £8,900
Fine furniture FAQs
Find answers to common enquiries about buying and selling in this department.
Get your fine furniture valued by our experts
From a single piece to a whole collection, our specialists value your items, place them in the right sale and guide you through to payment.