Around 260 quality, fresh-to-the-market lots in a wide array of categories – vintage clocks, Asian objects and furniture, period American furniture, estate silver, fine art, decorative accessories and more – will be sold Saturday, April 23, at 10:30 a.m. (EDT), by Gordon S. Converse & Company at the Sheraton Great Valley hotel facility in Malvern, Pa.
Malvern is located in eastern Pennsylvania, about halfway between Philadelphia and Lancaster. It is convenient to State Routes 202 and 30, and is not far from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. For those unable to attend in person, online bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com (which bidders may access by logging on to www.ConverseClocks.com).
“This will be the best auction we’ve had in months,” predicted Gordon Converse. “In terms of the quality and variety of merchandise, it’s the best we’ve had in awhile. And we’re already seeing brisk hit activity on the website, which tells me there’s a buzz out there that will translate into a healthy turnout on auction day, both in the room and via LiveAuctioneers.com.”
Vintage clocks will include a fine mahogany tall case clock signed by David Weatherly (Philadelphia, at work 1805-1850), featuring an 8-day running bell strike clockworks and an enamel moon disk dial attributed to Patton and Jones; and an early 19th century mahogany tall case clock with a heroic painted dial signed by Abraham Cassell of Germantown (Phila., Pa.).
Other clocks of note include a fine mahogany cased 19th century English wall clock signed H. Lawson Lindley, with an 8-day weight powered bell strike mechanism; and an early 19th century Simon Willard tall case clock, 93 ½ inches tall, signed on a dial attributed to the workshops of Curtis and Nolen of Boston that’s attached to an 8-day bell strike clockworks.
Asian objects will feature a fine Chinese enamel vase, 15 inches tall; a large 18-inch Imari charger and a 13-inch Imari charger with blue, red and orange glazes and decorated and signed on the back with a blue glaze; a carved spinach jade seal; a perfumer of blue jade carved all over, with a replaced lid; a Ming-style carved white jade Buddha figure, seated, on a contemporary carved wood base; and a Zitan box containing a book in an incised jade book.
Asian furniture will be no less impressive. A few expected top lots include a great 19th century solid nan wood-carved and mortise and tenon-constructed opium bed, featuring rotating hangers on each side wall; and a pair of Korean chests, one a two-piece chest with the top section in panels, and a honey-toned example with paneling and two separate locking cupboard doors.
Furniture from this country will also do well. Lots will include a handsome 18th century walnut banister back chair (probably Bucks County, Pa.); a walnut corner cupboard with opening glazed doors above blind cupboard doors (84 inches tall); and a blind corner cupboard paint-decorated all over with landscapes and flowers by Marie Colette (signed and dated, 1991).
Other examples of period American furniture will include a 19th century Pennsylvania cupboard with outward folding doors below a single drawer; a finely carved and detailed Louis XV provincial pine marriage armoire with a nice carved crest; and an early 19th century Georgian mahogany oval-top drop-leaf Pembroke table with a single drawer opposite a false drawer.
Fine art will feature three lots, each one consisting of a set of four framed and signed engravings of early Philadelphia taverns, cafes and hotels, each one signed Edward Thomas Scowcroft; a colored etching of ducks in flight within an older frame, signed lower left by Leon Danchin (Fr., 1887-1939); and an original pastel on board landscape rendering by Charles Eaton.
Decorative accessories will include a gorgeous Tiffany style “Lily” bronze and favrile glass lamp with the base stamped “Tiffany Studios, New York 385”; a pair of carved walnut French fauteuil chairs with matching upholstery and detailed carving; and a matching set of wicker comprising an upholstered settee, a matching round table top and a demi-lune side table.
Still more decorative accessories will include a solid oak printer’s coffee table with a glass-protected top that reveals a collection of printer’s plates, with a document storage below top; and a fine woven Tabriz Persian carpet in excellent condition. Estate silver will feature an outstanding sterling repousse flatware set by Kirk & Son totaling 138.4 troy silver ounces.
To get to Malvern, Pa., from the south, take I-95 to Route 202 in Wilmington, Del., then north to Route 30 in Pennsylvania. From the north, take the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the Valley Forge exit, get on Route 202 South and go 10 miles to the exit for Route 30. Previews will be held Friday, April 22, from 11-7, and Saturday, April 23, from 8:30 a.m. until the start of sale.
Gordon S. Converse & Co. is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call the firm directly, at (610) 722-9004; or, e-mail them at [email protected]. Mr. Converse replies promptly to all e-mailed inquiries.
Anyone interested in finding out what an antique item might be worth can find out by sending a photo of the item, along with a check for $40, to Gordon S. Converse & Co., Attn: Gordon S. Converse, 758 Mancill Rd., Strafford, PA 19087.
For more information, please log on to www.AuctionsatConverse.com or www.ConverseClocks.com