IN PERSON

To bid in person at auction for the first time please register for a bidding paddle in advance by filling out and submitting a registration form at our front desk. When registering in person we require photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence.

ABSENTEE BIDDING

If you cannot attend the auction in person we can bid on your behalf. You can leave an absentee bid on our website.

The amount you bid should be your maximum bid. We will bid up to that limit for you, and remember you may end up paying less than your limit, depending on other bidding on the day.

You can leave an absentee bid up to half an hour before the start of any sale. Please note when we receive two or more absentee bids for the same amount, the first bid received will be the one taken.

LEAVE COMMISSION BIDS ONLINE

If you would like to leave a commission bid on our website you can do so up until 30 minutes before the sale starts. Leaving a commission bid through sworder.co.uk is free for all registered clients. Thereafter you may register bank card details under your account in order to bid live. Click here to register an account.

BID LIVE ON sworder.co.uk

You can bid live at our auctions from the comfort of your home or office using bidding platform Sworders Live.  It is easy to register and you can watch the auction live as it happens.  A 'Bid Live' button will appear on the auction on our website homepage when a sale is live; simply click the button to sign in or register with your card details. There is no additional charge for this service. 

For further instructions on registering to bid live, please click here.

TELEPHONE BIDDING

If you would like to bid by telephone please contact our team prior to the auction with your details of the lots you are interested in and your full name, address, telephone number(s) and email address. Once our team have entered your bid request you will receive an email confirmation. We will contact you during the sale and one of our team will bid live with you over the phone.

Please note that we normally offer this service for lots with an estimate of £500 or higher and all telephone bid requests must be received by close of business the day before the auction.

Auction: Instinct, Scholarship and Curiosity: The Jan Finch Collection, 9th Nov, 2022

With a natural curiosity and a tremendous thirst for knowledge, the late Jan Ellen Finch (1952-2021), led the London-based Finch & Co. over four decades to become one of the best-known and exciting dealerships of the modern era. Her impressive career is now marked in a sale of close-to four hundred hugely varied lots, as her husband and business partner, Craig, seeks to downsize and spend more time outside of the UK.

Sworders' sale includes both carefully chosen items of Finch & Co. stock and many pieces from Jan’s personal collection. Presented together, the collection is a celebration of many of her passions, which extended beyond her professional work to include gardening, cookery, and travel.

Viewing

VIEWING

Auction

Viewing will be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE, as follows:

Sun 6 Nov, 10am - 1pm 

Mon 7 Nov, 10am - 5pm 

Tues 8 Nov, 10am - 5pm 

All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description. 

Highlights

Selected lots will be available to view at our London Gallery, 15 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ, as follows:

Mon 17 to Fri 21 Oct, 10.30am - 5pm

Sat 22 Oct, 11am - 4pm

View all lots in this sale

Please note that this item is not suitable for a pre-sale automated shipping estimate due to the items weight/size. 

The below table shows indicative shipping costs for larger items being delivered within the UK mainland. Please note that all the below costs are purely for indicative purposes and are to be used as a guideline only. If you purchase multiple large items, we will combine deliveries to reduce the shipping costs. 

Should you be successful in buying this item, a specific shipping estimate will need to be requested after the sale using the link in your invoice email; this also includes all requests for international delivery.

If you would like further information about shipping and collection please see here.

Buying a pre-loved, antique, or vintage item not only provides you with unique style and value for money but it also helps to reduce landfill, and the annual emissions of an antique or vintage piece can be as little as one sixteenth of those of its new equivalent!

Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here