Converse Auctions' Online Armchair Adventurers Auction, April 24th

By Author: Todd Converse
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Converse Auctions is inviting everyone to chill out, pull up a seat and bid on something wild and wonderful in its upcoming Armchair Adventurer Auction scheduled for Saturday, April 24th, beginning promptly at 12 noon Eastern time. Bidders can travel the world from the comfort of their armchair to Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas in this 470-lot sale.

The catalog is packed with antique and silverplate items (including Tiffany & P. Garrett); Chinese and Japanese porcelain, paintings and more; African art masks, figures and textiles; Native American Hopi figures and jewelry; antique clocks from America, Europe and China; art glass, Fenton and Baccarat crystal; American homespun quilts and other textiles; and old maps.

While the event is Internet-only, with no in-person gallery bidding, online bidding is available at LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and ConverseAuctions.com. Live previews will be held by appointment only in Converse Auctions’ gallery at 1 Spring Street in Paoli, Pa., just outside Philadelphia. To set up an appointment, call 610-722-9004 or email info@converseauctions.com.

One ...
... of the auction’s expected headliners is a large and important Santa Clara Pueblo ceramic pottery vase signed by the renowned Native American artisan Margarita “Margaret” Tafoya (1904-2001). The vase is just under 17 inches tall, weighs 15.6 pounds and shows Tafoya’s incised signature. It’s an exceptional example of her work and should sell for $3,000-$5,000.

An Oneida Heirloom sterling silver flatware set in the Lasting Spring pattern, from 1955, with numerous serving pieces including a community silverplate baby spoon and ten of the pattern still in the original plastic bag, should reach $4,000-$6,000; while a Tiffany Art Deco sterling silver serving tray, with garland designs around the border and a central monogram, 15 inches in diameter, the back marked “Tiffany & Co., weighing 2.8 lbs. has an estimate of $1,000-$1,500.

A 19th century Chinese bracket clock on a stand, having time and strike double fusée movement and a sweeping second hand, and a brass (or bronze) bas relief back plate with character, tendrils and bird motifs is estimated to bring $2,500-$3,500. Also, a Waterbury Victorian-era cast metal and porcelain mantel clock with time and strike, an urn finial with a painted porcelain center on top, original bevel glass face glass and original porcelain face and hands, should hit $300-$500.

There are five painted wood Hopi Katsina (or kachina) dolls up for bid, as individual lots, each one about a foot tall. Kachina dolls, hugely popular with collectors, are figures usually carved from cottonwood root by the Hopi people, to instruct young girls and new brides about katsinas (or katsinam), the immortal beings that bring rain, control other aspects of the natural world and society, and act as messengers between humans and the spirit world.

From China, a Qianlong mark porcelain moon flask accented in gold, 15 ½ inches tall, with lotus petal forms surrounding the central character medallion on each side and each petal filled with scholar items and botanical scenes, has an estimate of $1,000-$1,500. Also, a jade foo dog lion and cub with accents in green and red paint, the large lion resting her chin on an orb, a small orb at her foot, 7 inches tall, should hit $800-$1,200.

A high-quality Oriental rug runner from Pakistan, all wool and tightly knotted, 30 ½ inches by 104 inches, the central area having an elaborate floral motif surrounded by a wide border of stylized flowers, is expected to garner $1,200-$2,000; while an antique homespun blanket (or coverlet) in brilliant dark blue, red and cream geometric patterns, 82 inches by 71 inches and hand-signed “Rachel Moyer”, should realize $200-$400.

On to Japan, where good things will happen in twos. One lot features a pair of vintage Japanese woodblock prints, one of a beauty in a garden, with calligraphy and an artist’s mark, the other showing a beauty in a pavilion overlooking a river in springtime. Another lot includes a Japanese hand-made porcelain coffee/chocolate pot in pastel colors, hand-decorated; and a brightly colored hand-painted vase with a wading bird, reeds and irises.

From Africa, a colorful round Zulu shield in yellow, blue, red, green and white, 18 inches in diameter with concentric pyramid shapes, is expected to knock down for $100-$200. The same estimate has been assigned to a Songue mask from Congo, 16 ½ inches tall by 7 inched wide, incised with curved lines for slits for eyes and an elongated triangular nose.

An impressive set of ten matching Massena pattern champagne flutes by Baccarat in the original boxes, featuring deep bevel cuts radiating from the foot of the glass upward into the base of the bowl, should rise to $1,000-$1,500. Also, a quadruple silverplate Pairpoint epergne (centerpiece) with rope form loop handles, floral designed feet and a base that’s decorated in scalloped shells and undersea life forms, carries an estimate of $200-$400.

For more information about Converse Auctions and the Armchair Adventurer Auction scheduled for Saturday, April 24th, please visit www.ConverseAuctions.com. Updates are posted frequently.