The last 100 lots of Clarke Auction’s March 18th sale include a variety of American and International oil paintings, drawings, and prints that the Auction had unearthed from a storage unit, earlier this week, but the discovery of the fine art is not the only conquest of Clarke Auction for the upcoming auction. The day’s auction, starts at 2:00pm, will include a worldly collection of art, furniture, and silver.

Just as Mark Antony adored Cleopatra, so too does Clarke have a fondness for Egyptian beauty, as exemplified in the oil and sand on masonite painting, entitled “Le Menestral,” by Egyptian artist Omar El Nagdi. The work portrays a faceless minstrel, layered atop the textured sand and masonite that recalls the dunes of the Egyptian Sahara. It is an undoubtedly magnificent piece that explores the 1961 modernity of Egyptian artistry and should stir some incredible bidding interest.

Directly across the Mediterranean from Egypt, Italy yields some rare works for the March 18th auction, including two landscapes by Guido Trentini. Trentini, who is most renowned for his portraits “Velia” and “Madonna,” also lent his talents to a few select landscapes. His featured paintings at the auction are the 1929 oil on panel of an Italian farmhouse and the 1927 Vienna landscape. Among other Italian works in the auction, a signed and dated oil on panel of a watermill by Pio Solero also stands out.

Worldly connoisseurs of the ancient world found the exotic and the intriguing in the Far East, and this week’s New York auction scene is not much different. Clarke Auction, along with Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Bonhams’ Auction houses, in New York City, embraces Asia Week New York 2012. Clarke’s Asian highlights for the March 18th auction include a signed Chinese ivory carved covered censor and a mixed media work entitled “Autumn Evening” by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. The censor is complete with removable top adorned with foo dogs, carved dragon handles, and a wood base. The Kusama is watercolor and spray paint on paper. Other Asian highlights include a Famille Verte export bowl, a bronze Chinese warrior, a pair of carved Chinese hard stone plaques, a jade and brass inkwell, and a pair of Chinese hardwood carved chairs. Along with the Asian works, there is an exceptional highlight from Eurasia in the form of a Russian silver, possibly Faberge, bowl. The signed “plique-a-jour” enameled sugar bowl is estate fresh and intricately designed.

An American addition to the March 18th auction comes from the American Realist, Eugene Speicher. The Buffalo, New York born artist was well known for his affiliations with Hopper, Henri, and Rockwell Kent. Two lots from Speicher are available in the upcoming auction. The two Speicher lots are a 1912 oil on canvas of a spring landscape, as well another beautiful 1912 oil on canvas spring landscape with distant mountains. Both paintings are estate fresh from an Oyster Bay, Long Island location. Other notable American art highlights in the auction include three lots from Alexander Calder. The three lithographs are entitled, “McGovern,” “Seahorse,” and “Butterflies and Spiral,” respectively.  Also,  a lot of four plaster chess pieces by Tom Otterness will be featured. Finally, from the United States territory of Puerto Rico, expertly painted oil optical entitled “Point” by Paul Camacho is to be auctioned off as well.

Clarke Auction also features several Midcentury Modern furniture lots in the upcoming auction. The Midcentury  highlights include some rare and worldly pieces. There is an early Eames lounge chair and ottoman, a Horst Bruning day bed, two Paul McCobb chests, and the rare "Cityscape" desk and "Cityscape" credenza by Paul Evans. The Evans twin pedestal desk is made of burl walnut with seven drawers and mirrored chrome. The "Cityscape" cabinet is also burl walnut and displays matte chrome. Both Evans' pieces came from the same New Rochelle estate and are in prime condition.

The Decorative Art highlights include 3 lots of stunning life-sized signed bronzes, marked "Houdan" and "H. Rouard Fondeur" on the base. All three pieces are of superior quality and condition from an Oyster Bay, Long Island estate. A 17th century tapestry of a lion and his prey is also featured in the sale from the same estate. The most abundant lots from the Decorative Art selection are porcelain. There are over 30 individual porcelain and collection lots that include seven lots by Belleek that make up almost 25 reticulated and polished porcelain items. Also among the porcelain lots, there are several beautiful examples of porcelain art from Meissen and Sevres. Meissen work features a lot of four porcelain figures, a pair of unusual candlesticks, a lot of porcelain lamps, a pair of porcelain covered urns with gilt bronze bases, and a porcelain grouping that includes a large Mottahedeh cache pot and stand. The Sevres lots feature a pair of Napoleonic Urns, and a teapot featured in the porcelain grouping previously mentioned.

Silver has always been a global symbol of prestige and wealth, and the featured lots at Clarke reinforce that belief. Highlights in the silver lots include an extremely heavy Tiffany Tray, a fine Mexican tea set, and a Tiffany reticulated silver filigree tazza and bowl. The Mexican tea set includes a Coffee Pot, creamer, open bowl, sugar, and server, weighing approximately 173 troy ounces as a set.  Also for sale is an accompanying Mexican silver "Joyerian Reel" jug, weighing approximately 36 troy ounces. The tea set and jug were both consigned from a Park Avenue estate. Additional highlights among the silver lots are a 7 troy ounce sterling cup and saucer by Gustav Klingert, a Tiffany & Co. Chippendale style tray, and several sterling flatware lots.