Welcome to Tonsley Fine Art & Antiques
We specialise in period and contemporary art and furniture, antiquarian prints, silver, silver plate, old Sheffield plate, ceramics and lighting. Our services include furniture restoration, upholstery, bespoke picture framing, picture and picture frame restoration.
Art
We have a constantly changing stock of contemporary and period paintings, oils, watercolours, drawings, pencil, pen and ink and prints (some humorous). We strive to obtain named artists where possible so you have a wonderful piece of artwork that will hopefully appreciate in value over time. We offer artwork on approval to try it in your home to ensure you are happy with the piece and enjoy it as much as we hope in your own environment. We understand things can look very different in a shop or gallery. We only want you to have these objects because you enjoy having them in your life.
Maps
We have a good stock of general maps concentrating on the Home Counties and London during the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth century. There has been an increasing demand for local maps and due to difficulty of supply we have had a range of reprints of maps of our area, Wandsworth, Fulham, Wimbledon, Clapham and Putney. Obviously these are cheaper than the originals but are of extremely high quality, some on handmade paper. These make fantastic presents and can be purchased framed and unframed. Some of the map makers (cartographers) we commonly stock are John Speed, John Ogilby, Richard Blome, Robert Morden, John Cary, Thomas Kitchin, G W Bacon, E Stanford and many more. Some maps are in their original frames, some maps have been reframed and some maps are unframed, allowing the purchaser to have a choice of coloured mount and frame. This can be achieved with our bespoke framing service we endeavour to reframe a map within three working days.
Antiquarian Prints
We stock a large variety of antiquarian prints, mainly of the British Isles but do specialise in London and the Home Counties. Many of our prints are from the original plates and some are reprinted, usually in the Victorian period. These are priced accordingly. Some prints are framed and some are not, however as with maps, can be framed to your own taste.
Silver
We stock a comprehensive range of English silver, silver plate and old Sheffield plate. We attempt to offer a wide selection of quality silverware to the market including silver candlesticks, wine coasters, salvers and dining ware. We are particularly minded to the need of some of our customers for christening and wedding presents so we always have a selection of christening mugs, silver spoons and napkin rings for that perfect gift. We believe that this is the perfect place to obtain a wedding or christening gift or for that matter a birthday or retirement gift. Our one month return policy enables you or any person you purchase a gift for to return it for a refund if it is not to their taste. We do this with all of our pieces. This we hope gives our customers the perfect peace of mind.
Furniture
We stock a wealth of period furniture, chairs, tables, cabinets, chests of drawers, coffers, tea caddies, mirrors and boxes. We mainly prefer Georgian to Victorian due to its wonderful proportions and simplicity in design which in fact fits very well with new minimalist furniture and styles. We believe that Georgian furniture offers amazing value for money at this time in history; it is in many cases cheaper than it was thirty years ago. Many Sotheby's experts tip Georgian furniture to be the best investment in the 21st century. They certainly don't make it anymore. Vast amounts are sadly being taken out of the country, exported all over the world. Emerging markets have taken a keen interest and realised that these are products that they cannot make and are taking advantage of the current situation. If you consider using an everyday piece of furniture that is over two hundred years old, this is an extremely good way of reducing your carbon footprint. This furniture, due to its quality of material and expertise of workmanship, has stood the test of time and has been effectively already been recycled to many admiring owners. We, with your help, can promote the restoration and conservation of these amazing objects which were made with loving care by our forefathers. Please think very carefully if you are disposing of these items as they can be easily restored to their former glory. We can offer you a full restoration service and it is not always as expensive as you may think. These objects were made with natural products and are made to be maintained, unlike modern furniture which has a lot of chemicals and modern adhesives in and cannot be repaired in many cases.
Contemporary Furniture
We appreciate the increasing demand for contemporary design in furniture. We are delighted to offer a selection of modern and retro furniture when we find a availability. We only consider selling extremely high quality and usually designer named furniture in immaculate or particularly good condition. Some designer names include Andrew Martin and Italian designers. We are usually able to provide these designs at a great discount due to our connections in this area.
Ceramics and Lighting
We have a selection of ceramics and lighting that are extremely decorative. Ceramics include Staffordshire ware, Shelley ware and Moorcroft. We sell some glassware including decanters.
Mirrors
We have a variety of mirrors including overmantles, occasional mirrors and dressing mirrors.