English Furniture and Works of Art

Featuring renowned makers such as William Kent, Thomas Chippendale and Matthew Boulton, Christie’s offers a wide range of Chinese Export wares, English furniture and works of art from various design periods and regions, including Ireland and Scotland.

In addition to our regular auctions — The Exceptional Sale and The Collector — we showcase single-owner collections and themed auctions, such as the 2018 sale celebrating the tercentenary of Thomas Chippendale’s birth. Christie’s also holds auctions dedicated to English country homes — large and small — which frequently provide rich resources for collectors, dealers and decorators seeking classic English styles.

Christie’s has achieved record prices for English furniture, including the Anglesey desk (1993), the Dundas armchairs (2008) and the Kenure Cabinet (2008), demonstrating our unmatched expertise and longstanding relationships with both sellers and buyers.

Elegant antique sofa with ornate golden frame and blue upholstered fabric featuring intricate patterns.

Upcoming auctions

VIEW PAST AUCTIONS

1 - 13 Oct
Online
Collections
New York
14 - 28 Oct
Online
Collections
London

1 - 13 Oct

Online

Collections

New York

14 - 28 Oct

Online

Collections

London

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Contact us

From free valuations to market advice, our specialists are here to answer your questions.

Orlando Rock
Chairman, Christie’s UK
London
Call+44 20 7389 2031
E-mailorock@christies.com
Orlando Rock is Chairman of Christie’s UK. He is recognised as one of the world’s leading specialists in the decorative arts, and has been with Christie's for 25 years.

Orlando works closely with the Chairman’s office teams and the specialist departments. Orlando has travelled extensively around the UK working closely with clients, professional advisors, institutions and those responsible for some of the most important historic houses in the country. Formerly Director and Head of Private Collections and Country House Sales, he was the inspiration behind the highly successful Exceptional Sales, now held annually in both London and New York.

Orlando started at Christie's London in 1990, having graduated with first class Honours in History from the University of Bristol. He transferred to Christie's New York in 1998, where he oversaw many historic sales including those from Houghton, Bute and Longleat, to French furniture from the Alexander and Riahi Collection. In 2002, Orlando returned to London to head the newly-established Private Collection and Country House Sale Department. He was appointed Deputy Chairman of Christie’s UK in 2009, becoming Executive Director of the UK Chairman’s Office the following year. In 2012 Orlando was appointed Deputy Chairman of Christie’s in Europe and the following year, International Head of Decorative Arts - before becoming UK Chairman in 2015.
Thomas Williams
International Head of English Furniture & Clocks
London
Call+44 207 752 3239
E-mailtwilliams@christies.com
Thomas joined Christie’s in 2024 assuming overall responsibility for English Furniture & Clocks. Prior to joining Thomas spent 13 years at Sotheby’s during which time he was involved in many of the department’s most successful auction sales.
Benjamin Berry
Head of Sale, Associate Specialist
London
Call+44 (0) 20 7389 2775
E-mailbberry@christies.com
Benjamin joined Christie’s Decorative Arts department as a Cataloguer in 2021 and has worked on the biannual Collector sales as well as contributing to the phenomenal success of the sale of the collection of Hubert de Givenchy in June 2022 and the London Exceptional Sale in July 2022. Enthused by history and research, Benjamin works primarily with the English, European, and 19th Century Furniture and Works of Art departments. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Classics and German from Oxford University and prior to joining Christie’s worked with museums and auction houses in the UK and Germany.
Amjad Rauf
International Head of Masterpiece and Private Sales
London
Call+44 (0) 20 7389 2358
E-mailarauf@christies.com
As International Head, Masterpiece and Private Sales, and Head of the London annual Exceptional Sale, Amjad Rauf’s main focus is Decorative Arts Masterpieces, notably for sales in London, Paris and New York. Based in London, Amjad works closely with his Decorative Arts colleagues globally, as well as other Christie’s representatives, collaborating with them on matters of client relations, sourcing, valuations, curating and expertise. Responsible for Decorative Arts Private sales since 2014, Amjad staged the exhibition “Empire, curated by Hubert de Givenchy” in 2014, and “Expanding Horizons”, in 2021, focusing on the relation between Asian Contemporary Art and Classical Decorative Arts. One of the most international members of Christie’s Decorative Arts team, Amjad is fluent in English, Dutch, German and French. He joined the department in London in 1995, and has since, in various capacities, worked on the sales of European Decorative Arts as well as key European and US Collections, such as the sale of the late Dr Anton Dreesmann in 2002 (£22,4 Million); The Champalimaud and Wildenstein Collections in 2005 (£39 Million and £21,9 Million), Taste of the Royal Court in 2016 (£ 6,7 Million) and the Eric Albada Jelgersma Collection in 2018 (£ 22 Million). A highly memorable moment in his career was the sale of the Badminton cabinet in 2004 (£19 Million), the most expensive piece of furniture ever sold at auction.
Thais Hitchins
Associate Specialist
London
Call+44 (0) 777 138 0779
E-mailthitchins@christies.com
Sale Enquires
Collections: London
London
E-mailCollectionsEnquiriesLondon@christies.com
Georgina Marriott
Sale Coordinator, Classic Art Group
London
Call+44 20 7389 2968
E-mailgmarriott@christies.com
Georgina joined Christie’s in 2022 and works within the Classic Art Department on the Collection Sales team. She holds an BA in Art History from the University of St Andrews and an MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art.
William Strafford
Deputy Chairman, Senior International Specialist
New York
Call+1 (212) 636 2348
E-mailwstrafford@christies.com
Will Strafford, Senior International Specialist, European Furniture and Decorative Arts, has been based in New York since 2003 and was head of the European Furniture department from 2003-2012. Prior to that he ran the European Furniture sales in Christie’s King Street from 1999-2002 and worked as a European Furniture specialist in Christie’s New York from 1993-1999. The landmark sales he has worked on include Works of Art from the Wernher Collection (2000), the Collection of the Late Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild (2000, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection (2000), the Doris Duke Collection (2004), the Partridge and Segoura sales (2006) , the Van Cliburn Collection (2012), the Collection of Djahanguir Riahi (2012), the Peggy and David Rockefeller Collection (2018), and the Desmarais Collection (2019). Mr. Strafford has a degree in English and History of Art, and more than thirty years of experience in the auction business.
Allison Cox
Head of Sale, Associate Specialist
New York
Call+1 212 974 4520
E-mailACox@christies.com
Allison Cox is an associate specialist in English Furniture and Decorative Arts in New York. She holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in History from the Johns Hopkins University where she concentrated on social and cultural histories, as well as material culture studies. She received her master’s degree with distinction in Museum & Artifact Studies from Durham University in the United Kingdom.

Prior to joining Christie’s, she was with another international auction house in New York. She is also a member of the Furniture History Society and the Georgian Group.
Sale Enquires Collections: New York
New York
E-mailCollectionsNY@christies.com