Clars Auction
November 19 & 20
5644 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA 94609
www.clars.com
info@clars.com
888-339-7600 (toll free)
510-428-0100 (local)

OAKLAND, CALIF. — On November 19-20, Clars Auction Gallery will present an auction featuring a wide range of fine art, furniture and decorative arts, Asian arts, jewelry and more.

The firm’s fine art department will feature a Tom Wesselmann (American, 1931-2004) original work from his iconic series “Great American Nude” in the November 20 session. The oil and mixed media work, titled “The Great American Nude #13,” was completed in 1962 and is an early example of the series, which he completed in 1973 with number 100. The work demonstrates the artist’s use of bold color and military imagery, along with his famous female nude form, the recurring subject throughout his career. The artwork is estimated at $50/70,000.

Clars will also offer a work on paper by Abstract Expressionist artist Richard Pousette-Dart (American, 1916-1992) titled “The Chalice.” The watercolor and gouache on paper was created during the 1940s while the artist was experimenting with biomorphic and symbolic forms. Pousette-Dart was a contemporary of several successful Expressionist artists such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt, to name just a few. The work will be offered at $12/18,000.

Clars will offer a selection of European and American furniture and decorative arts. Highlights include a Neo Grec salon cabinet, circa 1870, likely Herter Brothers ($4/6,000), a pair of Louis XVI-style malachite mounted gilt-bronze gueridons ($4/6,000) and a Russian Napoleonic gilt-bronze chandelier valued at $7/9,000. Also on offer will be an Italian micromosaic plaque of the “Doves of Pliny” by the Vatican Mosaic Workshop, late Nineteenth Century and a French gilt-bronze and champleve enamel clock garniture retailed by Le Roy et Fils, Paris, late Nineteenth Century. The department will also feature several specialized collections, including a large collection of South African gold Krugerrands, Native American baskets, Indian miniature paintings, Russian icons, among others.

In Asian arts, the paintings and calligraphy section will be led by a massive ink and color on paper hanging scroll by Wu Changshuo (1844-1927), titled “Pine and Lingzhi,” painted in 1921. As one of the world’s most acclaimed masters in Chinese painting and one of the leading masters of Shanghai School in the Republic period, Wu Changshuo is known for his style of merging calligraphy techniques into paintings, using the ink and brushstroke to demonstrate the conception rather than striving for realism, which greatly influenced the modern and contemporary Chinese art world. This massive piece at Clars presents a great example of Wu Changshuo’s iconic style of mixing traditional Chinese with Western sensibility to depict one of his favorite subject matters in his late years, the pine tree. The painting comes from a southern California estate ($80/120,000).

A San Francisco Bay area collection of archer’s rings will lead the jade and miscellaneous section, presenting nearly 40 lots of imperial quality white jade, celadon jade, jadeite, agate, glass, enamel and various organic material archer’s rings. The collector acquired this collection throughout 1970s to 1990s from various dealers and estates in the San Francisco Bay area, including Ching Wah Lee, Herb Newman and Sandra Sakata, among others.

The jewelry and timepiece department will offer a selection of diamond, colored gemstone and gold jewelry in the November 20 sale.

This sale features a variety of wardrobe staples as perfect gifts to kick off the holiday season. A wide selection of wearable diamond jewelry includes an approximate 3.40-carat colored diamond and 18K gold ring ($7/9,000); and a diamond and 14K white gold bangle bracelet ($3/5,000). As well, there is a colorful gemstone selection, including a Burma ruby, diamond and 14K white gold bracelet ($7/9,000); and a South Sea pearl, diamond and platinum ring ($800-$1,200). Other wearable pieces are featured by makers such as Tiffany, represented in an early Twentieth Century diamond and pearl silver-topped 14K gold pin, Tiffany & Co. ($800-$1,200); and a sterling silver bracelet, Buccellati ($700/900).

Clars Auction Gallery is at 5644 Telegraph Avenue. For information, 510-428-0100 or www.clars.com.

1. Mary Riter Hamilton (Canadian, 1873-1954), In the Garden, 1912, oil on canvas, 215″ x 18″. 2. A Fine Russian Neoclassical gilt and crystal chandelier, 19th century.
3. Granville Redmond (American, 1871-1935), Untitled (Sunset on the Coast), oil on canvas, 18″ x 24″.
4. Edward Henry Potthast (American, 1857-1927), Untitled (Figures on a Beach), oil on panel, 4.5″ x 65″.
5. A fine Italian micro-mosaic plaque of the Doves of Pliny by the Vatican Mosaic Workshop, late 19th century.
6. A Russian Calendar Icon.
7. Charles Garabed Atamian (French/Turkish, 1872-1947), Untitled (Figures on a Beach), oil on canvas, 13.25″ x 16.25″.
8. A rare hand carved seahorse fantasy bicycle, 19th century, from the Sutro Baths and Cliff House, San Francisco, CA.
9. Caroline Rose Callahan (American, 1867-1959), Le Petit Dejeuner (Luncheon), circa 1910, oil on canvas, 49.5″ x 53.75″.
10. A marquetry decorated salon cabinet circa 1870 likely Herter Brothers, New York.
11. A Burma ruby, diamond and fourteen karat white gold bracelet.
12. An eighteen karat tri-color gold bracelet, Tiffany & Co.