After an extraordinary 61 years on the King’s Road, Guinevere Antiques will be closing its doors for the final time this Christmas. To honour the legacy of this remarkable family-run business, Sworders is privileged to be hosting a landmark auction featuring nearly 500 exceptional lots, all to be offered without reserve.
Taking place at our Stansted Mountfitchet auction rooms on Tuesday 18 February 2025, this unique event will bring some of the alchemy of a beloved antiques emporium to market. Showcasing the quintessential Guinevere ‘look,’ the auction will feature an eclectic mix spanning period lighting, furniture, textiles, decorative arts, and contemporary pieces.
Highlights include Flemish tapestry fragments, Anglo-Indian boxes from Vizagapatam, and a series of intricately carved wooden roof ornaments from a Thai palace - all reflecting the unique and timeless aesthetic that made Guinevere iconic.
Guinevere's Shopfront in 1963 © Barbara Akpinar
Guinevere's Shopfront Today
Guinevere Antiques has been a fixture on the Fulham-Chelsea border since 1963. Its founder, Genevieve Weaver, moved to post-war London from Normandy intending to become a hat designer. Instead, she settled on Portobello Road and developed a passion for antiques, eventually opening her own shop on the King’s Road, where rent was just £4 a week.
As the Sixties embraced antiques and interior design, Genevieve’s taste-driven approach - buying only what she loved - found success. She pioneered blending styles and periods, famously remarking, “If something was ugly in the 19th century, it’ll still be ugly now.” Her eclectic stock ranged from French provincial furniture to Eastern treasures sourced during trips to India, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Genevieve in Indigo & Wode Room © Peter Johnson
Genevieve's sons Marc and Kevin joined the business in the early 1980s when the shop had become the regular haunt for decorators, collectors and celebrities alike. Fashion designer Valentino once said: “I own so many items from Guinevere, I can now open my own shop.”
“Marc and I have run and developed Guinevere Antiques in the past two decades, staying true to the ideals established by Genevieve” says Kevin Weaver. “What made us stand out were two attributes: the melange of what we were buying and our unique presentation. These principles remain with us today. Everything needed to have visual appeal, originality of design and quality of manufacture.”
Marc's wife, Heather, joined Guinevere in the late 1980s and spearheaded the textile department, introducing its renowned throws, rugs, and bestselling bespoke lampshades made from vintage fabrics. In-house stylist Dean Robinson, who joined 20 years ago, continued the tradition of those exuberant King’s Road window displays – the 21st century antiques Wunderkammer – that literally and figuratively stopped traffic on the street.
“The name Guinevere became synonymous, not so much with antiques as with antiques with attitude,” recalled Genevieve Weaver shortly before she passed away in 2000. The shop continued to thrive long after others that were made in its mould had closed, moved on or moved online. The firm passed its 50th anniversary in 2013 and marked its 60th anniversary with a sale held in 2023.
With the recent sale of the Guinevere building to a property developer, the Weavers are planning a new future. “It’s been an incredible journey, and we’ve met so many wonderful clients who’ve become friends,” says Marc Weaver. “Guinevere pieces are likely found in every corner of the globe, and we’re honoured to have been part of so many decorating journeys.”
A pair of neoclassical painted and parcel-gilt wooden pier tables
c.1850, Italian, each with a mirror back and a removable marble top enclosing a jardiniere
150cm wide, 43cm deep, 290cm high (2)
£2,000-3,000
A baroque-style silvered bronze urn in the manner of Ferdinand Barbedienne
c.1880, Continental, with gilded decoration to the lion mask handles, floral swags and Bacchic masks
54cm wide, 30cm deep, 45cm high
£1,200-1,500
A pair Renaissance-style carved rouge marble lions
c.1820, Italian, Florence, each lying recumbent on a plinth base
62cm wide, 20cm deep, 40cm high (2)
£1,500-2,500
A collection of carved wood chofa temple spires
c.1850, Thai, with applied glass panels, mounted on metal stands,
the largest 19cm wide, 40cm deep, 188cm high (7)
£2,000-3,000
A pair of Louis XVI ormolu candelabra in the manner of Delafosse of Paris,
c.1770, 'a la Grec', with three branches and central flaming finial
23cm wide, 33cm high (2)
£500-700
A wrought iron eighteen light chandelier
c.1800, French, decorated with polychrome roses, poppies, lillies and sunflowers
90cm wide, 120cm high
£1,500-2,500
Explore the interview by tapping on the questions below.
Buy what you like, not what you think someone else will like. Be bold. Buy the best you can afford.
Buy pieces that give you pleasure. A room should be a reflection of your taste and likes.
There are so many pieces, it’s tough. The bronze and silvered urn attributed to Barbidienne is of fabulous quality. The Liege all crystal chandelier is one of my favourites. It only recently became available, as it took a year and a half to restore one damaged part!!
Probably a French Regence Gilt Mirroir a Parecloses from the early 18th century. I have no explanation as to why I love them. I just do. There is one in the sale.
I once owned an orientalist portrait of a young girl by Lucien Levy-Dhurmer. I think it’s the most captivating painting I remember owning.
It’s definitely possible, but it seems to have got harder as the individual costs for shipping and restoring pieces has soared while the value of the antiques has stayed the same or gone down.
Looking for pieces and interaction with our clients and suppliers.
Heather and I will continue in some form, without the pressure of a large gallery. There are still too many magical treasures to discover.
At present, no. But maybe one day I can persuade my daughter…?
London | Monday 20 January - Monday 3 February (weekdays 11.30 - 17.30, open Saturday 1 Feb 10.00 - 13.00)
Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers | 15 Cecil Court | London | WC2N 4EZ
Stansted | 14, 16 & 17 February (weekdays 10.00 - 16.00, Sunday 10.00 - 13.00)
Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers | Cambridge Road | Stansted Mountfitchet | Essex | CM24 8GE
privatecollections@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778
