Clars Upcoming Auctions
April 14 & 15
5644 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA 94609
www.clars.com
info@clars.com
888-339-7600 (toll free)
510-428-0100 (local)

OAKLAND, CALIF. — Clars is scheduling an auction for April 14-15 that will feature fine art, furniture, decorative arts and Asian art.

The firm’s spring jewelry and timepieces auction is on Friday, April 14, beginning at 9:30 am PDT. The sale includes a selection of colored gemstones, diamonds, antique and signed jewelry and timepieces.

The sale is highlighted by gemstones, including an approximately 12-carat Colombian emerald diamond and 18K gold ring ($10/20,000); a pair of Victorian Colombian emerald and diamond earrings ($5/7,000); a natural pearl, diamond and platinum necklace ($6/8,000); an unheated Burma ruby, diamond and 14K gold ring ($15/20,000); and an unheated Ceylon sapphire, diamond and platinum ring ($15/20,000).

Complementing the auction will be a selection of diamond jewelry, including an antique diamond and 18K gold ring ($2/4,000); a diamond and 14K white gold bracelet ($15/20,000); and a diamond and 18K white gold rivière necklace ($30/40,000).

Another feature of the sale is a selection of timepieces led by an 18K gold automatic wristwatch, Day-Date, Audemars Piguet ($8/12,000); an 18K gold wristwatch, 150th Anniversary Perpetual, Ulysse Nardin ($12/18,000; an 18K white gold wristwatch, Patek Phillipe ($5/7,000); and a diamond and 18K gold wristwatch, Tank Francaise, Cartier ($5/7,000).

The Asian art department will offer a group of Chinese scholar’s objects, including a carved aloeswood “scholars” brush pot, a large celadon jade ruyi scepter and a Kangxi period underglaze blue and white brush pot painted with various court figures. On offer also is a collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphy by some of the top Twentieth Century masters such as Zhang Daqian, Pan Tianshou, Yu Youren and Pu Ru.

Clars will offer an oil on board by American painter Maynard Dixon, who is much revered for his depictions of the American West and Southwest. Born in Fresno, Calif., Dixon later moved to San Francisco to study art at what is now the San Francisco Art Institute, where he developed his unique style that melded the bold graphics of Precisionism with the moody atmosphere captured by Tonalist painters like James McNeill Whistler. The painting in this sale, titled “Sentinel Peak,” shows a stark desert landscape with a solitary butte dominating the horizon. A trail of white clouds seems to rise from the peak like a chimney into a strikingly blue sky ($15/25,000).

Also featured in the sale is an oil on canvas painting by Croatian artist Vladimir Becic, a painter for whom Clars holds the highest records at auction. Among the long list of prominent creatives who honed their craft at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, Becic is known in his home country for helping to usher in modernity in fine arts during the early Twentieth Century. Though his style evolved throughout his career, the landscape in this auction shows influence by predecessors such as Paul Cezanne, utilizing tone to portray texture. However, Becic’s forms are strikingly smooth, with flat rocks, glossy water and fluffy tree tops that emphasize tactility and volume while idealizing and simplifying the forms. The inclusion of two female figures collecting water in jugs adds to the idyllic, otherworldly atmosphere of the scene: a place outside of time with all objects in harmony. This piece, titled “Landscape Bosnia, II,” is estimated at $20/40,000.

Another item in this auction is a three-dimensional collage by American artist Red Grooms. Known for the absurdist humor in his Pop Art compositions, Grooms has worked as a painter, sculptor and printmaker, taking the latter method to a new level in the work in this sale. The collaged lithograph, titled “De Kooning Breaks Out,” depicts famed Dutch-American artist Willem de Kooning pedaling a bicycle with a female figure, taken from one of his many “Woman” paintings, riding on the handlebars. The figures quite literally “break out” in this instance, with the printed paper folding and layered to create a three-dimensional composition ($4/6,000).

The furniture and decorative arts department will have a collection of items in the auction. Featured lots will span from across the globe and ages. Highlights will delight those interested in historical travel, including a selection of historic and folk art maritime items, relating to Titanic and Olympic White Star Lines, as well as a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk from the late 1800s ($4/6,000). In addition, there will be a collection of Egyptian masks from the state of Joanna Barnes and Jack Warner (Santa Barbara, Calif.). Barnes was a Hollywood film actress featured in movies such as Auntie Mame (1958) and The Parent Trap (1961). Warner was a prominent architect. There will be a selection of furniture as well, including an Italian micromosaic decorated foyer table, ($8/12,000).

Bidding is available by phone, absentee bid and live online at www.live.clars.com and through www.liveauctioneers.com and www.invaluable.com. Clars Auction Gallery is at 5644 Telegraph Avenue. For more information, www.clars.com or 510-428-0100.

In Person + Online Bidding I Preview: April 13th, 1-5 PM PDT

1. A pair of Colombian emerald, diamond and fourteen karat gold ear jackets.
2. A natural pearl, diamond and platinum necklace.
3. A Colombian emerald, diamond and eighteen karat gold ring.
4. An eighteen karat gold automatic wristwatch, Day-Date,
Audemars Piguet.
5. An eighteen karat gold wristwatch, Master Banker, Frank Muller.
6. A Colombian emerald (approx. 12.00 cts), diamond and eighteen karat gold ring.
7. An eighteen karat gold wristwatch, 150th Anniversary Perpetual, Ulysse Nardin.
8. An eighteen karat gold wristwatch, Navitimer Chrono, Breitling.
9. A pair of Victorian Colombian emerald and diamond earrings.
10. A stainless steel wristwatch, Luminor GMT, Panerai.
11. An antique, diamond and eighteen karat gold ring.

1. Vladimir Becic (Croatian, 1886-1954), Landscape Bosnia, II, oil on canvas, 29.25″ x 37.25″.
2. Maynard Dixon (American, 1875-1946), Sentinel Peak, 1941, oil on board. 12″ x 16″.
3. Red (Charles Rogers) Grooms (American, b. 1937), De Kooning Breaks Through, 1986, three-dimensional lithograph and collage in colors, 43″ x 28.75″ x 7″.
4. A fine selection of historic and folk art maritime items, including Titanic and Olympic White Star Lines.
5. Attributed to Feng Zikai, Fan Painting
6. An Italian micro mosaic decorated foyer table.
7. Chinese underglaze blue brush pot, Kangxi period.
8. Louis Vuitton steamer trunk, late 1800s.
9. Chinese aloeswood ‘scholar’ brush pot
10. A Greek or Roman Bronze Portrait Head.
11. A fine selection of Egyptian masks. Provenance: Estate of Joanna Barnes and Jack
Warner (Santa Barbara, California) Ms. Barnes was a Hollywood film actress featured in movies such as Auntie Mame (1958) and The Parent Trap (1961). Mr. Warner was a prominent architect
12. Chinese celadon jade ruyi scepter.
13. Attributed to Joshua Reynolds (British, 1723-1792), Sir Richard Worsely, oil on canvas, 25.5″ x 19.5″.
14. Attributed to Zhang Daqian, Lotus.