Auction Results
Country House Collection: June 2023

Managing Partner and Founder, Christina Trevanion, reflects on a fascinating and unique auction held by Trevanion at a historic Country House in Cheshire.

‘As a business we have embraced and adapted to the monumental shift that the auction industry has seen over the last few years.  The Covid 19 Pandemic acted as a catalyst for the online market and we have seen a huge shift to online buying.  A recent report states that now 78% of collectors buy online compared to 38% only a few years ago.  And so for me, it has been joyous to get away from a screen and get ‘back to basics’ over the last few months and offer to the market the contents of Tushingham Hall in a traditional format, yet with the modern convenience and global exposure you would expect from a progressive business operating in 2023. 

Tushingham Hall, Whitchurch

When we were invited to conduct the sale of the contents of Tushingham Hall, we knew immediately that we wanted to keep as many pieces as possible in situ, allowing potential buyers to see where things had stood for years, or even centuries.  We felt very strongly that the essence of a country house sale lies in the location as much as in the provenance, so for example when we found a wonderful collection of painted Georgian furniture which had luckily escaped the 1980’s stripping tanks, it was important that we allowed people to view it as it had been found, similarly with the garden statuary and paintings – where better for them to be, than in the majestic surroundings of Tushingham Hall where they had lain, relatively untouched.

An early 19th century oil on copper portrait of the Vawdrey children with their pet rabbits, sold for £5,500

The Hall itself has been in the same family for more than two centuries, passing from the Kenyon family to the Vawdrey family via the female line and on to the current residents, the Moore Duttons.  Every generation of the family added to the extensive collections of furniture, art, militaria, natural history and ephemera in the house, creating a unique home almost literally bursting at the seams with interesting and valuable objects. 

The sheer variety of pieces offered for sale at the auction was reflected in the top selling lots on auction day.  Highlights of which included a large 18th century spice cupboard which sold for £6,000 and had been used to house artefacts in the Hall’s very own ‘museum room’, an utterly charming early 19th century oil on copper portrait of the three Vawdrey children with their pet rabbits sold for £5,500, an Indian Matchlock Musket or Toredar sold for £5,500, and a 17th century polychrome decorated and carved arched panel depicting a biblical scene and reputedly from the ‘olde’ Greenwich Palace before the fire in the 17th century, sold for £5,500. All of these wonderful pieces were woven into the rich tapestry that was the contents of Tushingham and the people that added them to the collection, it was quite lovely being able to spend time researching and cataloguing them prior to the auction on the 28th June.

A carved arched panel reputedly from the ‘olde’ Greenwich Palace before the fire in the 17th century, sold for £5,500

The auction offered an extraordinary variety of interesting pieces, indeed our buyers had the rare opportunity to buy everything and anything from a Walrus skull (sold for £2,800) to an early nut cracker (sold for £3,200), and whilst we are honoured to have been given the opportunity to conduct this auction, we are equally delighted that our clients and customers had the opportunity to view the hall itself for one last time prior to its sale. 

Whilst we couldn’t go as far as putting a marquee on the lawn like they used to in the old days, we do feel that this nostalgic way of presenting an auction and the unique viewing experience we provided, really added to the overall phenomenal results on the day.  It was a wonderful combination of the traditional and the modern, on the preview days prior to the auction, we welcomed our local customers and those who had travelled from far and wide from across the country just to visit the hall, and on auction day we registered buyers from all four corners of the globe; Europe, Hong Kong, America and New Zealand’.

If you have pieces you are looking at selling or are curious to find out what your items could be worth, you can book a free no obligation auction valuation appointment on 01948 800 202 or info@trevanion.com.

Related Posts
Back to All
Auction Results
Poultry Rules the Roost: June 2024

A single owner collection of cockfighting pieces ruled the roost at Trevanion Auctioneers’ two day June auction.  Day one was a specialist sale dedicated to silver, jewellery and paintings, while day two saw a wide range of antiques, furniture and collectables go under the hammer. 

Auction Results
Numismatic enthusiasts in their element at Trevanion’s recent specialist auction

A single owner collection of coins and medallions amassed over a lifetime of dedicated collecting caused a huge stir at Trevanion Auctioneers’ May 22nd auction. The collection was considered so special that it was given its own exclusive auction despite comprising only 178 lots. “A collection like this seldom comes to the auction market and

Auction Results
Roaring 20’s Prove Music to Bidders’ Ears: April 2024

Jewellery fit for a princess was at the heart of Trevanion Auctioneers’ April auction.  The star of the show was an early 20th century diamond set bracelet made for Russian Princess Irena Obolensky (1917-1996).

Auction Results
Delftware Delights: March 2024

Spring was in the air at Trevanion Auctioneers’ March auction, and the promise of warmer weather was perfectly captured by one of the star lots – a rare near pair of Bristol Delft ‘Farmyard’ plates, circa 1730, each polychrome decorated with a cockerel amongst manganese purple trees.

Auction Results
February Auction Cooks up a Storm: February 2024

In the strike-bound, power-cut plagued Britain of the 1970s, there emerged an artist whose joyful, bold and colourful depictions of larger-than-life women having fun, were a ray of light in an otherwise drab world.

Auction Results
Diamonds and Dogs yield Top Results: November 2023

They traditionally say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend and dogs are a man’s best friend, and bidders at our hugely popular Fine Art and Antiques auction in November certainly seemed to agree with this sentiment with both diamonds and dogs among the top prices achieved over the two-day auction.

Auction Results
Picture Perfect: October 2023

With the night’s drawing in, there’s nothing better than finding something bright and beautiful to lift the gloom, and buyers at our two-day Fine Art and Antiques specialist October auction were spoilt for choice!  Day one saw bidders vying for a beautiful selection of jewellery, with sapphires and diamonds the stars of the show. 

Auction Results
A Sparkling Success: August 2023

Trevanion Auctioneers are celebrating following the huge success of their recent jewellery auction which was the largest offering of jewellery in the nine year history of the firm.

Auction Results
Country House Collection: June 2023

Managing Partner and Founder, Christina Trevanion, reflects on a fascinating and unique auction held by Trevanion at a historic Country House in Cheshire.

Auction Results
Colour Change Sapphire Suprise: May 2023

A rare and unique ring won the hearts of bidders at our May Fine Art & Antique auction.  Lot 160 , a mid 20th century certified colour change sapphire cluster ring, attracted bidding from around the world, eventually selling for £4,200 plus buyer’s premium. 

Auction Results
Lots of Love: February 2023

Love was certainly in the air during our February Valentine’s auction, where a spectacular sapphire and diamond ring sold for an incredible £15,000 + Buyer’s Premium. The ring, which featured an impressive 13.8 carat Burmese sapphire, was discovered amongst a collection of vintage and costume jewellery from an estate in Shropshire

Auction Results
Banishing the Winter Blues: January 2023

After a roaring start to their first auction of the year, the team are looking forward to a busy 2023. Many of the top results of the day came from the furniture section, which included a fine Jacobean chest of drawers and a two section chest of the same period, which made £2,200 and £1,500.

Auction Results
Enigmatic Faces of the Interregnum

Christina Trevanion reflects on the sale of a rare 17th century painting which sold for more than a quarter of a million pounds.    There are moments in an auctioneer’s life that ‘stick’, and recently, perched on top of a ladder, in a rather damp and tumbling down out-building, I had one of these.  For hanging