MALVERN, Pa. - Over 300 lots of fine American, European, African, Chinese and other Asian items will be sold in an internet-only Spring East Meets West Auction on Friday, March 24th, by Converse Auctions, based in Malvern. Online bidding will be available via the Converse Auctions website (www.converseauctions.com), or App, plus LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com.

Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Offered will be antique clocks, fine furs, a Colt .44 revolver, sterling silver, a gilt bronze dragon seal, bronze Buddhas, Asian scrolls, furniture, fine cloisonné and more. The auction will begin promptly at 10 am Eastern time. Previews will be held in the Converse gallery on Wednesday and Thursday, March 22 and 23, from 10 am-4 pm Eastern time both days.

A strong candidate for top lot of the auction is a rare Leslie & Price (Philadelphia) tall case clock featuring a rocking ship graphic on the face with Roman numerals and gold gilt spandrels. The clock, 90 inches in height, should sell for $7,000-$12,000. Also, an early 19th century English Pimlico bracket clock by Samuel Moginie, 8 feet 6 ½ inches tall, has an estimate of $500-$800.

African lots will feature a colorful mask from the collection of Cynthia Piper, who traveled throughout the Congo in the 1940s (est. $300-$500); a wooden statue of a carved bird-god head figure on a stand with a U-shaped handle (est. $300-$500); and a sculpture of Nigerian twins, shown attached with neck ropes, collected by a missionary family in the 1930s (est. $200-$400).

From Asia, a large gilt bronze seal, covered by two dragons facing a flaming pearl on top of swirling clouds on each side, and a top adorned by a forward-facing, horned dragon, weighing 15 pounds, should realize $2,000-$4,000; and a scroll with large, colorful peonies and calligraphy and the artist’s seal on the upper left, 29 ½ inches wide by 74 ½ inches long, is estimated at $200-$400.

Fans of Chinese jade will be able to bid on a carved white jade mountain, 8 inches tall, with three figures standing on the ledge in the shade of trees near a pagoda with a bird nearby (est. $2,000-$4,000); and a pair of jade table screens, 9 ½ inches by 5 ½ inches, with one screen depicting two cranes near a tree, the other two deer by a tree (est. $1,000-$1,500).

Looking for diversity? Not many auctions feature guns and furs, but this sale has a US Army Civil War 1862 Colt .44 revolver with a cartouched cylinder scene and “C.T. Palmer” scratched on the butt, in excellent condition for its age (est. $2,000-$4,000); and three full length fur coats, including a lustrous shadow white fox fur coat in beautiful condition with a shawl collar (est. $200-$400).

A pastoral painting by David Ellinger (1913-2003), titled Long Lane Farm, shown in the 1958 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts’ Twentieth Century American Painting and Sculpture, is expected to hit $1,000-$1,500; and an 1877 neoclassical Sevres lamp, signed Thomas Allen, with painted porcelain reliefs illustrating John Milton poems, 38 inches tall, should sell for $300-$500.

Chinese furniture will include a pair of rosewood and nacre inlaid armchairs formed of an undulating crest rail above a large pierced splat carved with ruyi scepters surrounding a Shou character (est. $1,000-$1,500); and a pair of brass mounted zitan high-back folding chairs with a rolled head rest and a Chilong motif, 50 inches tall (est. $800-$1,200).

A pair of glazed bowls is decorated with nine fierce, colorful dragons among clouds and flaming pearls on a yellow background, marked on the bottom, is expected to garner $1,000-$1,500; while a huanghuali jewelry chest, inlaid in nacre with birds, flowers and butterflies and cabinet doors that open to reveal five drawers with brass pulls, should knock down at $500-$800.

A huanghuali painting table having a half-round banded apron and with a round mitered inset top, highly grained, with giant arm braces that support the top of the table, should finish at $800-$1,200. Also, a circa 1800 chest with a top that opens to a desk with storage and below having four drawers with brass pulls, possibly made in Bermuda, is expected to sell for $600-$900.

A Chinese Chen Xiang wooden chao zhu made from wood, jade, lapis, jasper beads and rock crystal pendants with gold inclusions, 50 inches in length, surmounted by enamel butterflies, is expected to achieve $800-$1,200; and a seven-stringed instrument (or guqin), lacquered and incised with a design of a herd of deer in a bamboo forest, 48 inches long, should hit $500-$800.

Rounding out just some of the day’s top lots, a three-piece sterling silver tea set with an oval tray measuring 11 inches by 14 inches and stamped J. E. Caldwell, is estimated at $1,000-$1,500; while a harp with brass reliefs and accents, having four pedals and signed “Sebastian and Pierre Eraro’s, Marlborough St., London,” 68 ½ inches tall, should play a sweet tune for $800-$1,200.

Converse Auctions is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them directly, at (610) 722-9004; or, you can send an e-mail to info@ConverseAuctions.com. Curious about an item’s value? Bring your items (or photos) to Free Appraisal Tuesdays, every Tuesday from 10-4 at the Malvern gallery, located at 57 Lancaster Avenue in Malvern, in eastern Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.

For more information about Converse Auctions and the internet-only Spring East Meets West Auction planned for Friday, March 24th, please visit www.ConverseAuctions.com

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