Private Collections Lead Fine Interiors

Sworders’ June Fine Interiors auction features over 750 lots of furniture, works of art, paintings and silver, with a good showing of English and Continental furniture and decorative arts from the 17th to the 20th centuries to suit a variety of tastes and styles. Leading the sale are the selected contents from three impressive private properties.

Farm House

22 Farm Street, Mayfair, London

Sworders’ will be offering the selected contents from the historic property Farm House, 22 Farm Street, Mayfair, London. With estimates ranging from £100 to £15,000, the collection is led by a Royal Louis XV kingwood, tulipwood, sycamore and parquetry inlaid meuble d'entrée, made for Château de Fontainebleau, which is complemented by Continental pictures, English and European furniture, lighting, and period and modern decorative furnishings.

A magnificent four bedroom house on one of Mayfair’s most sought-after streets, Farm House was beautifully refurbished with fine furnishings and works of art in 2013. Taking its name from the site’s original farmhouse that predated the development of Mayfair, the property was rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century with medieval and 17th-century elements as a gentle nod to its heritage.

The property’s colourful history continued, as it became home to aristocracy and socialites throughout the 1930s, first by Swiss-born Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness (1904-1970), the twice-married mistress of the then Prince of Wales and later King Edward VIII, during their relationship between 1930 and 1934. Furness subsequently lent the house to Wallis Simpson, who entertained the Prince of Wales there, and the American actress Gloria Swanson.

Folly Mill

Thaxted | Essex

Sworders is pleased to present the selected contents of Folly Mill, Thaxted. This charming collection of traditional English and Continental furniture, paintings and decorative arts from the 17th to 19th centuries have been beautifully presented alongside an exciting array of modern art in situ at the Grade II-listed manor house, creating a stimulating blend of traditional and modern.

Situated in a 222-acre estate in the north of Essex, Folly Mill dates back to the late 16th century and extends to over 4,200 sq ft. After being purchased by the Renton family in 1938, the property has been most famously used over the past 80 years as a party venue and a base for country pursuits.

Estimates for the collection range from £200 to £6,000 and the selection of modern art will be offered in our Modern and Contemporary Art sale later in 2021.

Rivenhall Place

Witham | Essex

Included in the forthcoming sale will be a select group of pieces from the Grade II*-listed Rivenhall Place, near Witham, Essex. Set in 70 acres of Humphry Repton parkland, the house was purchased by the present owner in 2000 and has been meticulously restored to its former glory, with original shuttered windows, decorative cornicing, exposed and painted panelling and fine fireplaces.

Recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as belonging to Earl Eustance of Boulogne, the estate passed through several families before it was purchased by Thomas Western, a wealthy ironfounder and contractor to Charles II’s navy, in 1692. The house itself has been added to over many centuries and now comprises Tudor, early-Georgian, and late 18th-century elements within its walls.

Rivenhall has been graced with the presence of many artists over the years, including William Hogarth (1697-1764), who spent several periods of time at the house and painted the Western family in a conversation piece there in 1738 (now in the National Gallery of Ireland). In homage to this connection, a set of prints by Richard Earlom after William Hogarth from Rivenhall will be included in our upcoming sale. Based on Hogarth’s six-part series of paintings, Marriage A-la Mode (now in the National Gallery, London), the works tell the story of an ill-fated arranged marriage and are a satirical comment on the lives and morals of 18th-century aristocracy.

View the upcoming Sworders, Fine Interiors auction, June 29 & June 30th, here.