For International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting four women at Sworders and the opportunities, learning and support that have shaped their careers.
8 March 2026
With the nights growing longer, the Out of the Ordinary department are reopening their doors for consignment, ahead of the 2023 sale. Otto Billström discusses everything unusual about the specialist sale and what to expect.
11 October 2022
The Out of the Ordinary sale, now entering its sixth year, has become a staple in the Sworders auction calendar, celebrating eclectic items like no other, with a rich, eccentric background.
For those of you who are new to Sworders' Out of the Ordinary auctions, this sale is your one stop shop for everything you might need for your Cabinet of Curiosities. Be it the scientific or occult, morbid or folk art - if it's something unique you are after, this sale has it covered. Having featured everything from a 'Feejee' Mermaid to a taxidermy unicorn, you are sure to find a worthy conversation piece in our diverse mix of carefully sourced pieces.
The first Out of the Ordinary sale took place in February 2018, showcasing everything from 20th century decorative arts, bronzes, glass, ceramics, posters, modern design, motoring art, pop and film culture, photographs and sporting art, all unusual items outside the norm.
Travel Reliquary, late 17th/early 18th century, likely Flemish, Sold for £2,990
Our 2022 sale earlier this year featured over 350 lots across a range of categories. Highlights included an extraordinary brass reliquary selling for £2,990 and a pair of early 20th century Masonic tracing boards which sold for £2,340. Amongst other highlights, an extraordinary plaster maquette of Satan by Jean-Jacques Feuchère, achieved a staggering £8,840.
Freemasonry, 20th century, a pair of Masonic tracing boards
After Jean-Jacques Feuchère (French, 1807-1852), Sold for £8,840
As we look ahead to the new year, leading the 2023 sale is an extraordinary, private modern-day cabinet of curiosities in true Victorian fashion. The carefully curated collection features several pieces of Memento Mori, items of Boer War interest, as well as ethnographica and folk art from around the world.
Cabinet of Curiosities Collection, 2023
We also have an extraordinary collection of documentation pertaining to two of the most notorious criminals in the history of modern Britain, with more details to follow soon…
To stay up to date on all things Out of the Ordinary, sign up to the Sworders newsletter, and for any extraordinary valuation requests please contact our specailists at outoftheordinary@sworder.co.uk
For International Women’s Day, we’re spotlighting four women at Sworders and the opportunities, learning and support that have shaped their careers.
8 March 2026
We are excited to share a collection of works from the estate of John Nash that features in our 31 March 'Modern & Contemporary Art' auction.
6 March 2026
One of the most rewarding aspects of our auctions is the opportunity to present a personal collection - an intimate glimpse into the tastes, influences and inspirations that shaped an individual’s life. This March, our Modern & Contemporary Art sale offers exactly that: a capsule of 20 works (lots 202–221) from the private art collection of Michael Rand, the celebrated art editor and director of The Sunday Times Magazine.
6 March 2026