For HNW individuals, there is no need to compromise on quality or rarity when purchasing an antique piece or a collectible item. The antiques and collectibles market is notoriously opaque and difficult to access. But being ‘in the know’ about what to buy and how to buy it is crucial for those who are looking to expand their private collections.
Getting the appropriate value for money requires deep historical understanding, provenance and authentication expertise, and an extremely well-trained eye, which is why calling on an experienced antiques and collectibles expert is essential.
[See also: Price of fame: more HNW investors are buying into pop culture collectibles]
While many specialists sell their stock, others also perform services such as valuations and appraisals, provenance research, regulatory compliance and collection management. The Spear’s rankings of the top antiques and collectibles experts feature advisers from auction houses and dealerships, who can assist HNW collectors during the entire ownership process, from sourcing a piece to re-selling it.
In fact, the best antiques and collectibles advisers don’t just assess an object’s appearance and appeal. Whether it is investigating its history, analysing the materials it is made of, finding information on the maker or evaluating its relevance in the market, they give clients holistic and informed advice on whether and how to make a purchase.
[See also: Big four auction houses scramble amid $10 billion art market slump]
With access to specialist databases and private archives, they are also able to confirm authenticity, spot forgeries and identify quality pieces that less-trained eyes might overlook.
Content from our partners
Our research found that in 2025, the top experts featured in this index identified a growing interest in antique mirrors and bronze sculptures, including works in the spirit of Lalanne and Giacometti, and several advisers mentioned an increase in demand for antique furniture, especially first and second-rate items.
- Methodology
- The best antiques and collectibles experts: some names to know
- The best antiques and collectibles experts: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best antiques and collectibles experts : some names to know
Sarah Hornsby
- Focus: Ancient world
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Hornsby + Nugée
Ex-Christie’s directors Sarah Hornsby and Judith Nugée founded their antiquities and ancient art consultancy in 2009. At that time, says Hornsby, ‘There were the auction houses and there were the dealers, but there were very, very few independent consultancies.’
Based in London, Hornsby + Nugée specialises in antiquities from Europe, Greece, Rome, Egypt and the Near East. They offer advisory, sales and negotiations services, handling artefacts both privately and at auction. Valuation, insurance, family division and taxation are also covered, with discretion and independence valued above all.
Read Sarah Hornsby’s full profile on Spears500.com
Francesca Hickin
- Focus: Near East, Egypt, Greece and Rome
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Bonhams
After a four-year stint at Christie’s, Francesca Hickin moved to Bonhams in 2017 to head up its antiquities department, which showcases artefacts from the 3rd millennium BC to the 10th century AD. All manner of objects pass through Bonhams’ antiquities department doors, from Egyptian canopic jars and Greek statues to inscribed stelae, Roman glass beakers and Near Eastern painted bowls.
‘I think almost everyone has some level of interest in the ancient world,’ Hickin has said. ‘Most people recall having their imaginations captured by ancient Egyptian mummies or Greek myths when they were younger.’
Read Francesca Hickin’s full profile on Spears500.com
Simon Phillips
- Focus: 18th-century English furniture
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Ronald Phillips
Simon Phillips took over his father Ronald Phillips’ business selling fine antique English furniture in the 1990s. It is now, as it was then, one of the world’s top dealers and restorers in that field.
Their long-standing premises in Mayfair exhibits a constant parade of the very best furniture England has produced. With a specialism in 18th-century furnishings, a spectacular array of mirrors, commodes, study furniture and ornaments have come through Ronald Phillips’ doors, which have attracted museums and private collectors, including members of royal families.
Read Simon Phillips’s full profile on Spears500.com
Daniel Crouch
- Focus: Rare maps and globes
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Daniel Crouch Rare Books
Daniel Crouch was plunged into the world of rare books at age 16, when he began to work at a bookshop in Oxford in between school and university. Only a few years later, Crouch found himself promoted to manager of the books department at the same shop. ‘I don’t think [my manager] realised she was consigning me to a lifetime of being a dealer, but she did,’ Crouch tells Spear’s.
Daniel Crouch Rare Books has established itself as a well-known dealer in London, specialising in maps, atlases, globes, books, nautical charts and many other curios from the 15th to the 19th centuries.
Read Daniel Crouch’s full profile on Spears500.com
The best antiques and collectibles experts: the complete list
Contact us
- To apply for inclusion in The Spear’s 500, complete our submission form.
- For further information about rankings, please email research@spearswms.com; we aim to respond to all queries within two working days.
- For commercial enquiries and questions relating to enhanced profiles, please contact Commercial Director Shady Elkholy: shady.elkholy@spearswms.com
- To keep up to date with the Spear’s 500, subscribe to our magazine, newsletter and follow Spear’s on Linkedin and Instagram.
- If you have missed calendar deadlines for our research cycles in 2025, you can still register your interest for updates about upcoming research and rankings.
- Click here to order a print copy of The Spear’s 500.
