The highest price of the sale — $16,380 — went to this Philip (1908-1988) and Kelvin (b 1936) LaVerne circular etched bronze Chan table, 28 inches high by 40 inches in diameter ($5/7,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
OAKLAND, CALIF. — Furniture, decorative arts, fine art, jewelry and Asian art made up the 645 lots of Clars Auctions’ January Gallery Auction, which was conducted on the 23rd. While a sale total was not disclosed, press representative Talesa Eugenio shared that the sell-through rate was 83 percent.
A Philip and Kelvin LaVerne circular etched bronze Chan table led the day, surpassing its $5/7,000 estimate by just under tenfold at $16,380, selling to a Canadian buyer on the phone. Measuring 28 inches high and 40 inches in diameter, the table was signed on both its top and base.
Four tables by Mira Nakashima also earned some of the top prices of the day, collectively totaling $38,510. A Minguren I table, made from walnut and highly figured burl, was the highest earning of the selection at $11,790. The burl wood was used primarily for the free-edged top, which measured 34 inches in diameter. The table itself was signed “Mira Nakashima 10-10-01 MAKAMAN” and was acquired directly from the artist by the previous owner; its new owner is an online bidder from the East Coast.
The first Nakashima table was followed closely behind by a Minguren I end table, which was snatched up by a private collector from the Midwest, bidding online, for $11,135. The remaining two Nakashima tables, both Minguren I end tables, realized $9,825 and $5,760, respectively.
Closing its enamel-decorated accordion doors for $6,930, was this Brutalist metal-clad and welded deep-relief sideboard, 31½ inches high by 72 inches wide by 21½ inches deep, which will head to Canada ($1/2,000).
Bidders were also interested in a Brutalist metal-clad and welded deep-relief sideboard done in the manner of Paul Evans. It had a patchwork and slate top with enamel-decorated accordion doors. A phone bidder took the 72-inch-long sideboard to its new home in Canada for $6,930.
Fine art was a popular category, with a watercolor by Louis Comfort Tiffany earning the second highest price of the sale, $15,720, thanks to a private collector in Texas bidding online. Titled “San Pietro, Venice,” the landscape was signed lower right and measured 15¼ by 18¼ inches in its frame.
An online bidder from the east coast took Dorr Bothwell’s 1941 oil on board “The Long Walk to Sunday” to $8,960, which contained a label for the San Francisco Museum of Art Rental Gallery on its back, while prints were led at $9,170 by Thomas Hart Benton’s “Wreck of the Ol’ 97,” a lithograph which was pencil signed at its lower right and purchased by an online bidder.
A selection of Asian art was offered, and a Southeast Asian sandstone fragment of an Asura warrior led the group. Carved in the Bayon style, the sculpture had was published in Pratapaditya Pal’s The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection (1977) and was previously on loan to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It will return to Southeast Asia, with a collector who secured the winning bid online for $9,600.
With provenance to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Pan-Asian collection, this Southeast Asian sandstone fragment of an Asura warrior will return to Southeast Asia with a collector for $9,600 ($1/1,500).
Silver was led by a 141-piece Shreve and Company sterling silver flatware service, which set the table for $10,710. Each handle was monogrammed “AWL” in script. Another Shreve and Company set, this example a sterling tea and coffee service, surpassed its $6/8,000 estimate at $8,820. The set included a teapot om stand, coffee pot, tea pot, covered sugar, creamer and waste bowl, all of which were monogrammed “JDG.”
Fine jewelry and watches attracted bidder attention, including a stainless steel Rolex Submariner watch with a circular black dial, luminous markers, an acrylic crystal face and a 26 jeweled self-winding movement, which ticked to $8,190, heading to a Bay Area private phone bidder.
The Rolex was followed quickly by an 18K gold Bulova Accutron watch from 1965 ($7,560) and an 18K gold pocket watch in a polished 18K gold case ($6,300). A standout jewelry selection was a 22K gold necklace, which was designed as a modified byzantine-link chain; it realized $5,355.
Clars Auctions will have its Important Fine Art Auction and Asian Works of Art Auction on February 19, followed by a Gallery Auction on February 20, and The Warehouse Auction on February 21.
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For more information, 888-339-7600 or www.clars.com.
