PAOLI, Pa. – A striking oil portrait painting of a young girl by Russian artist Alexei Harlamoff, a handsome William Gilbert Jewelers wall regulator clock, a pair of fine elaborate zitan folding chairs with dragon arms, and a gorgeous bronze enamel censer in a presentation box are a taste of what’s in Converse Auctions’ East Meets West Auction on Friday, March 13th at 10 am EST.

The auction will be online-only, but previews will be held in Converse Auctions’ new gallery located at 1 Spring Street in Paoli, not far off Interstate 76 and just outside of Philadelphia, north and west of the city. Previews will be held Tuesday through Thursday, March 10-12, from 10-4 Eastern time. Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. People can also register and bid online at www.ConverseAuctions.com (and enjoy a lower buyer’s premium in the process).

The auction is packed with 579 lots of fine American, European, African, Chinese and other Asian items – a tantalizing blend of objects from the East alongside items from the Western culture (hence the title ‘East Meets West’). All lots have a starting bid of $10, a tactic designed to encourage newcomers to the collecting world, and old pros as well, to bid early and bid often.

Items from the East include Chinese fine furniture, bronzes, carvings, glass, paintings, jewelry, wooden boxes and brush pots, textiles, vintage Japanese textile kimonos, robes, obis and accessories, scrolls, prints, porcelain, books and cryptomeria. 

Items from the West will feature fine art paintings and prints by Vlaminck, Cope, Sobossek, Burliuk, Dauchot and others, plus Mexican child portraits and Haitian paintings, a torso attributed to Brancusi, furniture and sterling silver (including a Reed & Barton service for eight).

Also offered will be clocks, European and American pottery and porcelain, Mid-Century Modern lots, art glass, decoys, insulators, African tribal artifacts, books, jewelry, vintage accessories (to include a lovely Hermés scarf), large Persian Tabriz and other rugs, and many other great items.

The oil on canvas portrait by Alexei Harlamoff (Russian, 1840-1925), depicts a young girl wearing traditional ethnic dress, her soulful eyes staring directly at the viewer as she delicately touches the flower garland that crowns her head. The 28 inch by 34 ½ inch painting is signed lower right “Harlamoff” (est. $6,000-$9,000). The William Gilbert Jewelers wall regulator, 80 inches tall, has a pinwheel time only escapement with grid iron pendulum (est. $5,000-$8,000).

The elaborately decorated gilt bronze lidded censer with beast handles, 16 ½ inches tall, has an estimate of $8,000-$12,000. It has colorful accent characters, bats, flowers and tendrils on the body and lid, plus a presentation box. The two zitan folding chairs boast heavily carved legs, arm rests and back, all in a dragon and cloud motif. The backsplat has a dragon carved into it and the back of the chair is carved in a ruyi with flaming pearl. The pair should finish at $3,000-$5,000.

A pair of oil on canvas portraits of young girls, each one rendered by a Mexican artist and with an estimate of $1,000-$1,500, is sure to get paddles wagging. One is a rare painting by Horacio Renteria Rocha (Mexican, 1912-1972). It shows a girl elaborately dressed, holding chicks in her uplifted apron, as hens, chicks and puppies play at her feet. The other, by an unknown artist, is of a girl in fancy clothes with a toy dog.  Her name is in a banner: “Nina Delores Vakao, AD 1890.”

An elaborately carved huanghuali lotus cabinet, carved all over in three-dimensional designs, is expected to change hands for $2,000-$4,000. The three top doors lift up and slide in, and there are two drawers underneath. The drawers are carved in lotus blossoms and leaves. Also, a bronze Buddha with a well-worn patina, accented in gilt bronze and bezel set turquoise stones, has an estimate of $800-$1,200. The figure is on a lotus petal and is in a custom wood presentation box.

Two very different lots share identical estimates of $2,000-$4,000. One is a large Persian Tabriz Oriental rug, 108 ½ inches by 150 inches, executed in dark reds with central flower and tendril motifs surrounded by various flower and tendril borders on blue backgrounds. The other is a lovely carved marble torso of a female, done in a style consistent with Constantin Brancusi’s stylized, simplified art. The unauthenticated piece is signed on the plinth, “C. Brancusi 1943”.

A short black silk Japanese kimono, or Haori gown robe, made around 1970 and decorated with cranes and flowers, 48 inches by 55 inches, should gavel for $100-$200. Also, a complete set of eleven The Tale of Genji books by Murasaki Shikibu, in Japanese, translated by Tanizaki jun and published in 1950, each book individually slipcased, will be offered up as one lot (est. $40-$80).

An oil on board painting of a village scene overlooking the sea by Maurice de Vlaminck (French, 1876-1958), signed lower left but unauthenticated, unframed and measuring 17 inches by 13 ½ inches, carries a pre-sale estimate of $2,000-$3,000; while a pastel Parisian café scene by the French artist Gabriel Dauchot (1927-2005), featuring a beautifully dressed couchette sitting at a table while a server stands behind her, undated, 22 ½ inches by 28 inches, should hit $300-$500.

A mahogany slant-top desk with two over three drawers, plus a top cupboard with an arched top and Eastlake style brasses, likely marriage, with two adjustable shelves and two drawers, has an estimate of $800-$1,200. Also, a pair of vintage Mid-Century Modern Danish bent wood arm chairs, measuring 27 inches by 27 inches by 31 inches, will be sold as one lot (est. $500-$800).

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 am to 4 pm at the new Paoli gallery.

For more information about Converse Auctions and the East Meets West Antiques Auction on Friday, March 13th, please visit www.ConverseAuctions.com. Updates are posted frequently.

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