Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®
Fine Art for Collectors, Interior Designers and the Trade
British and European paintings, sculpture and historic works of art for distinguished collections, interiors and professional projects.
The right work of art does considerably more than fill an empty wall. An historic portrait can introduce centuries of character into a contemporary room. A Victorian sporting painting can establish the identity of a country-house interior. A bronze sculpture can provide movement and architectural presence, while an atmospheric landscape can completely change the mood of a space.
Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD® is a specialist fine art dealership offering carefully selected British and European paintings, sculpture and historic works of art to private collectors and professional clients in the United Kingdom and internationally.
Our collection spans several centuries and includes portraiture, landscapes, marine paintings, sporting and equestrian art, wildlife and animal subjects, historical works, still lifes, sculpture and selected works of art.
The Gallery
A Curated Fine Art Gallery Rather Than a General Marketplace
There have never been more ways to discover art.
Collectors and designers can browse international design platforms, search auction databases, attend fairs and exhibitions, visit galleries or work directly with specialist dealers.
Our approach is deliberately focused. Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD® acquires and offers works directly as principal. Each artwork in our collection is selected for our own inventory rather than being presented as part of a general brokerage or sourcing service.
This allows us to concentrate upon the individual artwork: its quality, history, condition, provenance and presentation.
For collectors and professional clients, it also provides direct communication with the dealer responsible for researching and offering the work.
Interior Design
Fine Art and Sculpture for Interior Designers
Original artwork can give an interior something that reproduction and mass-produced decoration cannot: individuality.
Historic canvases carry surfaces that have developed over decades or centuries. Period and decorative frames introduce texture and architectural detail. Bronze develops a patina and physical presence quite different from two-dimensional decoration.
Importantly, an artwork does not have to belong to the same period as the room. A seventeenth-century portrait can create an extraordinary focal point within a restrained contemporary interior, just as twentieth-century sculpture can introduce movement and contrast into a traditional country house.
For interior designers and decorators, our online collection provides an opportunity to consider works according to scale, palette, subject, period and visual character.
We welcome enquiries from established design professionals regarding works currently within our collection, and private video viewings can be arranged by appointment when closer examination would be helpful.
Featured Work · Enzo Plazzotta
Galloping Horse
Sculpture can provide a particularly powerful focal point within an interior, and Galloping Horse by Enzo Plazzotta (1921–1981) demonstrates this exceptionally well.
Created circa 1970, this signed patinated bronze is edition 6 of 9.
Plazzotta captures the horse in motion, its body thrust forward with remarkable energy. The elongated horizontal composition and dark patinated surface give the sculpture a powerful silhouette while retaining a sense of elegance and movement.
At approximately 63 cm long, it has sufficient scale to command a substantial console, pedestal, library table or other architectural setting.
View Galloping HorseSporting Art
Fine Art for Country Houses and Sporting Interiors
British sporting art has a natural affinity with country-house interiors, libraries, studies and equestrian collections, but strong sporting paintings can also provide colour and character within more contemporary schemes.
These works frequently combine artistic interest with social history, recording historic hunts, horses, riders, sporting traditions and landscapes.
Featured Work · Basil Nightingale
“Hare Seeds, Gentlemen!” — With the Quorn Hunt
This substantial sporting work by Basil Nightingale is signed and dated 1895 and traditionally identified with the celebrated Quorn huntsman Tom Firr.
The mounted huntsman and grey horse create a strong visual focus, while the scarlet hunting coat introduces a distinctive note of colour against the restrained landscape.
At approximately 99 cm wide framed, the painting has substantial wall presence and is particularly suited to country houses, libraries, studies, equestrian interiors, private clubs and sporting collections.
View the Quorn HuntPrivate Collections
Fine Art for Private Collectors
Collecting art is intensely personal.
Some collections develop around a particular artist, school or historical period. Others concentrate upon portraiture, marine history, sporting art, landscape painting, sculpture or works connected with a particular location.
Many begin much more simply: with one painting or sculpture that immediately commands attention.
Our inventory reflects this individuality. Rather than following a single decorative fashion, we offer a changing selection of British and European works across a broad range of periods and subjects.
Historic Portraiture
Historic Fine Art for Collectors, Museums and Interiors
Portraiture provides one of the most direct connections between art and history.
A historic portrait preserves not only the appearance of a sitter but also costume, social status, fashions, family relationships and sometimes objects carrying their own symbolic significance.
For museums and institutional collections, such details may provide documentary value. For private collectors and interior designers, portraiture can introduce extraordinary human presence into a room.
Featured Work · Circa 1680
A Gentle Companionship
A Gentle Companionship – Portrait of a Boy and His King Charles Spaniel provides an intimate example of late-seventeenth-century British portraiture.
Dating to approximately 1680 and attributed to the circle of Mary Beale (1633–1699), the painting depicts a young boy accompanied by a small spaniel.
The relationship between child and animal gives the work a warmth and immediacy that distinguishes it from more formal ceremonial portraiture.
Its historic character makes it of interest to private collectors, historic houses, museums and professionally designed interiors.
View A Gentle CompanionshipProfessional Clients
Working with Interior Designers and the Trade
Professional buyers often consider artworks through a different set of practical requirements.
Dimensions, colour palette, framing, architectural setting, delivery requirements and the relationship between an artwork and the wider scheme may all be important.
We welcome enquiries from interior designers, decorators, galleries and established professional trade clients regarding works currently available within our inventory.
Because Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD® offers its own stock directly as principal, availability can be confirmed before a work is presented to a client or incorporated into a proposed scheme.
Interior Designers
Original artwork selected according to scale, subject, palette, period and visual character.
Private Collectors
Carefully researched British and European works with transparent provenance and condition information.
Trade & Galleries
Direct access to our own inventory for established professional art and design clients.
Museums & Institutions
Historic paintings and sculpture with individual research and documentary context.
Film & Television
Selected original period artwork for productions, subject to availability and separate agreement.
Hotels & Hospitality
Original art for reception spaces, suites, private rooms, clubs and professional interiors.
International Art Market
Discovering Fine Art Beyond the Auction Room
For Collectors and Designers Who Use 1stDibs
International design marketplaces have transformed the way collectors and professional designers discover fine art. Clients accustomed to browsing 1stDibs and other international design platforms can also explore our independent collection directly through Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
Our approach combines the convenience of online discovery with the direct relationship of purchasing from a specialist fine-art dealer.
For Collectors Who Research Through LiveAuctioneers
Auction platforms and databases such as LiveAuctioneers have expanded access to historic art-market information. Previous auction appearances can provide valuable documentary evidence when researching an artwork's provenance and market history.
Private treaty purchasing provides an opportunity to examine an available work, review catalogue research, request further information and consider an acquisition without the pressure of a live bidding window.
Production & Set Design
Fine Art for Film and Television
Original historic artwork can contribute significantly to the authenticity of a production interior.
Selected works within our collection may be considered for film, television and interior productions, subject to availability and separate agreement.
We welcome appropriate enquiries from production designers, set decorators, art departments, film studios and television productions seeking original paintings, sculpture and historic works of art.
Our inventory includes portraiture, landscapes, marine paintings, sporting and equestrian works, military subjects, still lifes, sculpture and other historic imagery capable of complementing period and character-led interiors.
Hospitality & Commercial Interiors
Fine Art for Hotels, Hospitality and Professional Interiors
Original art can also give hotels, restaurants, private clubs, offices and professional spaces an identity that cannot easily be achieved through standard commercial decoration.
A sporting work may complement a country hotel. An historic portrait can introduce character into a private dining room or reception space. A landscape can provide atmosphere within a bedroom or suite. Sculpture can create an architectural focal point within an entrance hall, reception area or private room.
For professional interiors, original artwork also allows a scheme to develop its own visual identity rather than relying upon decoration found repeatedly in other spaces.
Private Treaty
A Considered Alternative to Public Auction
Works are offered primarily by private treaty.
For many private collectors and professional buyers, private treaty provides a considered alternative to the public auction environment.
Detailed photographs and catalogue information can be reviewed before purchase. Questions can be discussed directly, and private video viewings can be arranged by appointment for clients wishing to examine an artwork more closely.
Enquiries are handled personally and confidentially.
Research
Research, Provenance and Responsible Cataloguing
The reverse of an historic painting can sometimes be almost as informative as the front.
Dealer labels, exhibition numbers, inscriptions, auction markings, collection labels and framing can all contribute to understanding the history of an artwork.
Research therefore forms an important part of our cataloguing.
Where appropriate, we consider:
Responsible cataloguing also requires acknowledging uncertainty. Where the available evidence does not establish an earlier owner, exhibition, sitter, location or attribution definitively, interpretation is presented as such rather than converted into fact.
Explore the Collection
British and European Fine Art
Discover our changing collection of carefully selected paintings, sculpture and historic works of art.
Private Collectors & Professional Clients
Find an Original Work of Art with History, Character and Presence
Whether you are a private collector, interior designer, decorator, trade professional, museum, hotel, production designer or film and television studio, we welcome enquiries regarding works currently within our collection.
Additional photographs, catalogue information, condition details and private video viewings are available by appointment.
Explore the Gallery