Asian objects will be sold alongside items from the Western culture in an autumn “East Meets West” auction slated for Friday, Oct. 2, by Gordon S. Converse & Company, in the firm's gallery, located at 57 Lancaster Ave. in Malvern, Pa. More than 500 lots in a broad range of categories will come up for bid, starting promptly at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Offered will be antique clocks (including examples by makers such as Aaron Willard, Griffith Owen and Isaac Jackson), fine art paintings, miniatures and prints, furniture (including pieces by Nakashima and Noguchi), ships' models, books, religious and tribal art, and many Asian items, to include huanghuali and zitan furniture, porcelain, enamel, jade, screens, and bronzes.
The worldwide mix of merchandise is especially pertinent now, in light of today's strong interest in Asian items. Price points will appeal to nearly every level of collector. Items will range from a Qing Dynasty-era bronze Buddha, 6 inches tall, with an excellent gilt gold surface and engraved bottom (est. $5,000-$8,000), to a lovely oval devotional piece depicting Madonna and Child (est. $20-$50).
A strong candidate for top lot of the sale promises to be a New England mahogany shelf clock, made circa 1825 and signed "Aaron Willard, Boston" (probably Aaron Willard Sr., 1757-1844). The clock, boasting an eglomise dial mask, a handsome case with gilt bronze paw feet, a round enamel painted concave dial and eight-day weight-driven movement, should hit $10,000-$20,000.
Other clocks will include a solid cherry and inlay decorated early Federal tall clock attributed to Isaac Jackson (Chester County, Pa.), 94 inches tall (est. $8,000-$10,000), and a walnut late-18th-century Pennsylvania tall case clock attributed to Griffith Owen, 92 inches tall (est. $4,000-$6,000).
Additional clocks will feature a late Federal eight-day tall case clock signed "Osgood Haverhill" (John Osgood, 1795-1840, of Haverhill, N.H.), with a solid maple case, 97 inches in height (est. $2,500-$4,000), and an early-19th-century eight-day banjo timepiece signed by the Boston maker William Cummens (1789-1834), who apprenticed under Simon Willard (est. 1,500-$2,500).
Lots will also include a late-18th- or early-19th-century Massachusetts shelf timepiece in a Federal mahogany and inlay case with hand-painted "kidney" dial and eight-day weight-driven movement (est. $2,500-$4,000); a triple fuse rosewood chime clock of "library" size, featuring quarter-hour chiming on five gongs and hour strike (est. $800-$1,500); and an-early 19th-century pillar-and-scroll mahogany and reverse painted shelf clock by Seth Thomas (est. $800-$1,200).
In addition to the Qing-era bronze Buddha, stars of the Asian category will include a Ming Dynasty charger in a dark style with a flowing vine design, 15 inches in diameter (est. $800-$1,000); a fine lidded cylindrical (or cushion form) cloisonné box with elaborate decorations inside and out, 10 inches in diameter (est. $3,000-$4,000); and a set of three framed Chinese paintings, with a mountain scene in watercolor flanked by calligraphic banners, all on paper (est. $2,000-$3,000).
Also from Asia will be a 19th-century Chinese solid rosewood étagère, probably made for export, 62.5 inches tall, carved and mortise and tenon joined (est. $3,500-$5,000); a pair of Qing 19th-century zitan chairs with exceptional workmanship relief carving on the legs and skirts and a pierced backrest and armrests showing vine-like foliates (est. $3,500-$4,500); and a Chinese watercolor painting album, presented in book form, with 10 examples of fine original art (est. $800-$1,200).
Of particular interest should be a black walnut (and other hardwood) "captain's chair" attributed to George Nakashima (Jap./Am., 1905-90), with a wraparound armrest and backrest supported by nine turned spokes, circa 1960s (est. $1,000-$1,500); an easy chair attributed to Phillip Lloyd Powell (Germantown, Pa., b. 1919), minus seat cushion (est. $600-$1,200); and a Danish Modern lounge chair with the original leather (est. $200-$400).
Two Chinese swords with identical estimates of $2,000-$3,000 will be sold as single lots. One is a Qing Dynasty sword with a silver sheath engraved with symbols joined with flowing foliate designs, including dragons. The other is a sword with silver scabbard, 37 inches in length. Also sold will be a zitan bed with raised carving throughout (est. $2,500-$4,000) and a large, sumptuously decorated export porcelain punch bowl (est. $300-$500).
Original art will include a 19th-century oil portrait painting of George Washington, after Gilbert Stuart, with original gilt wood mask frame, 33 inches by 28 inches framed (est. $1,500-$2,500); an oil-on-canvas portrait of Charles Viscount Townsend, the early-18th-century secretary of state for Great Britain, probably from the 19th century (est. $800-$1,200); and an oil-on-canvas after Correggio (Italian 1489-1534), “The Madonna of the Rabbit,” 14 by 12 inches (est. $200-$300).
Also to be sold on Oct. 2 will be a green Rookwood art pottery vase, 8.5 inches tall, with relief decoration of floral and organic qualities (est. $400-$600); an antique violin with bows and a case (est. $100-$200); a Martin Sigma DM-3 six-string acoustic guitar with carrying case (est. $150-$300); a pair of porcelain Lladro Thai dancers, a man and a woman, dancing in theater dress, 21 inches tall (est. $400-$600); and a pair of Modern storage cabinets (est. $300-$500).
Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Auctionzip, eBay Live and Bidsquare. Traffic is also being driven through the Converse website, www.AuctionsatConverse.com, as well as the Converse Auctions iPhone app. Previews will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 30, and Thursday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, call 610-722-9004 or visit www.AuctionsatConverse.com.