For its summer estates auction on Sunday, July 10, 2022, at 10 AM, Clarke Auction Gallery will present a well-rounded sale that hits all the major collecting categories with notable and important works yet is far-ranging too.
“Basically it’s a great sale overall from fine art and midcentury modern to furniture, jewelry and Asian antiques,” owner and auctioneer Ronan Clarke said. “We have a nice collection of Grand Tour bronzes, a good selection of decorative clocks and porcelains as well as a larger-than-usual grouping of fine carpets.”
Fine art will be particularly strong and led by a work by an important living artist, Sean Scully (Ireland, b 1945), whose oil on paper “Drawing # 30,” 1980, is estimated at $20,000/30,000. This 30-1/4 by 23-inch work is signed in pencil and came from a Westchester, NY estate; the artist lives nearby in Nyack, NY. Another standout is a Mane Katz (French-Ukrainian, 1894-1962) oil on canvas ($10,000/15,000) titled “The Flower Cart.”
Among a curated selection of contemporary works are a Paul Henry Brach oil on canvas ($5,000/7,000), “Tournament #2, signed and dated ‘54, and a 1971 screenprint in colors by Tom Wesselmann “Great American Brown Nude: Cutout” ($2,000/3,000). A small but pleasing group of Japanese paintings is highlighted by a Jun Dobashi oil on canvas ($3,000/5,000), “La Naissance.” Among sculptures is an untitled figure ($8,000/12,000) by Leo Amino, signed and dated 1952.
Whitney Bria, Clarke’s jewelry and silver specialist, doesn’t get floored often but when she opened the box containing a recent consignment, she was stunned to find a pair of platinum, diamond and pearl earrings with eight carats of fine diamonds ($6,000/9,000). The earrings have overlapping bands of tapered diamond baguettes and ending in semi-baroque pearl drops. “They’re beautiful, early to mid-20th century, and the diamonds are of great quality,” she said. “The earrings have a really great weight in general.” Also highlighting the jewelry category is a platinum ring centered with a 1-1/2-carat GIA round-cut diamond ($2,000/3,000).
Raymond Yard designs are quite desirable and this auction features two three-piece suites bought directly from him by the consignor’s mother, estimated at $4,000/6,000 and $3,000/5,000.
With 70 lots to choose from, the Asian arts category offers some fine items from an estate in Sleepy Hollow. A standout is a Chinese carved rock crystal lidded vase and cover having a leaf border and low relief flowers ($800-1,200) that is well-executed. Carved jade is always popular and a fine example is a Chinese carved russet jade snuff bottle with an amber stopper, 2.375 inches tall ($300-500).
One of Bria’s favorite Asian antiques in the sale is a pair of 18th century Chinese cinnabar lidded urns on stands ($600-900), Chien Lung period, 13 inches tall. “It’s unusual to see stands that are also cinnabar and it’s a particularly nice example that comes with an 1980s appraisal showing provenance,” she said.
Several large scale statement piece items for the home will cross the block, including a pair of palace size Sevres porcelain urns ($4,000/6,000) hand painted with figures and a landscape, 52 inches tall, a palace size hand woven carpet ($4,000/6,000), 23 feet 2 inches by 12 feet 7 inches; a monumental Grand Tour bronze column with Napoleon on top ($2,000/3,000), 52 inches tall, and an 18th century bronze mounted marble top commode ($3,000/5,000), parquetry inlaid.
The furniture category is particularly strong in midcentury pieces, led by a George Nakashima table for Widdicomb and six chairs ($3,000/5,000), a pair of Jansen quality bronze and marble Gueridon tables envicing quality bronze work with original patina ($3,000/5,000), and a set of six Hans Wegner chairs in oak and woven cane ($3,000/5,000).
Rounding out the auction will be a signed Codan Mexican sterling midcentury style, six-piece tea service ($3,000/5,000), a Continental silver tankard ($1,000/15,000) that is fine overall and further notable for its split mermaid finial on the handle that looks as if it inspired the Starbucks logo; and two Faberge-style items: a gilt silver lidded chalice with enamel decoration ($400-600) and a silver, spinach jade and gilt silver-mounted hinged box ($400-600).
Clarke Auction Gallery is at 2372 Boston Post Road. For information, www.clarkeny.com or (914) 833-8336.