George Nakashima, Kornblut Cabinet in American Black Walnut, 1972, New Hope USA
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima Studio (Cabinetmaker),George Nakashima (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 24.02 in (61 cm)Width: 25.99 in (66 cm)Depth: 21.66 in (55 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1972
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Wargrave, GB
- Reference Number:
George Nakashima
A master woodworker and M.I.T.-trained architect, George Nakashima was the leading light of the American Studio furniture movement. Along with Wharton Esherick, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, Nakashima was an artisan who disdained industrial methods and materials in favor of a personal, craft-based approach to the design. What sets Nakashima apart is the poetic style of his work, his reverence for wood and the belief that his furniture could evince — as he put it in the title of his 1981 memoir — The Soul of a Tree.
Born in Spokane, Washington, to Japanese immigrants, Nakashima traveled widely after college, working and studying in Paris, Japan and India, and at every stop he absorbed both modernist and traditional design influences. The turning point in Nakashima’s career development came in the United States in 1942, when he was placed in an internment camp for Asian-Americans in Idaho. There, Nakashima met a master woodcarver who tutored him in Japanese crafting techniques. A former employer won Nakashima’s release and brought him to bucolic New Hope, Pennsylvania, where Nakashima set up a studio and worked for the rest of his life.
Nakashima’s singular aesthetic is best captured in his custom-made tables and benches — pieces that show off the grain, burls and whorls in a plank of wood. He left the “free edge,” or natural contour, of the slab un-planed, and reinforced fissures in the wood with “butterfly” joints. Almost all Nakashima seating pieces have smooth, milled edges. Nakashima also contracted with large-scale manufacturers to produce carefully supervised editions of his designs. Knoll has offered his Straight chair — a modern take on the spindle-backed Windsor chair — since 1946; the now-defunct firm Widdicomb-Mueller issued the Shaker-inspired Origins collection in the 1950s.
Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 gave Nakashima his single largest commission: a 200-piece suite for his suburban New York estate. Today, Nakashima furniture is collected by both the staid and the fashionable: his work sits in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in the homes of Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Diane von Furstenberg and the late Steve Jobs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Wargrave, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- George Nakashima, Maple Frenchman's Cove Dining Table, signed and dated 1980By George Nakashima Studio, George NakashimaLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireA rare Frenchman's Cove dining table, in maple wood with free-edge top, made by George Nakashima in 1980 Height 73.5cm, the top basically 152.5cm square but slightly wider in places...Category
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMaple
- George Nakashima, Greenrock Console Table, Usa, 1987, Original PapersBy George NakashimaLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireGeorge Nakashima Cabinetmaker, USA, 1987. A stunning Greenrock table with highly figured single slab top in Butternut wood. Features three exposed knot...Category
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Warren Platner, Easy Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Knoll Intl, original 1972 exampleBy Knoll, Warren PlatnerLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireWarren Platner Easy Lounge Chair and matching Ottoman, designed 1966 and manufactured by Knoll International, this set dated 1972. This iconic chair is made of moulded fibreglass co...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Gianfranco Fini & Fabrizio Cocchia for New Lamp, 1970s Plexiglass Table LightBy Gianfranco Fini and Fabrizio Cocchia, New LampLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireStunning Pop Art Table Lamp, comprising 16 plexiglass rods illuminated through circular holes in the black aluminium base. Believed to be a model titled Divieto, attributed to Gianf...Category
Vintage 1970s Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum
- Wendell Castle, Rare Games Table, Walnut & Curly Maple, initialled & dated 1974By Wendell CastleLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireWendell Castle (1932-2018), Games Table, Walnut & Curly Maple, initialled & dated 1974 This is a rare design, which is illustrated in the catalogue raisonée (see below). The table ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Game Tables
MaterialsMaple, Walnut
- Gio Ponti, Small Walnut Desk, from the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, 1950sBy Schirolli, Gio PontiLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireGio Ponti small desk in light walnut on shaped tapering legs united by stretchers. The wood is in excellent condition with beautiful graining to the planked top, and the three friez...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Triple Sliding-Door Cabinet in American Black WalnutBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Waalwijk, NLGeorge Nakashima, sideboard, American black walnut, United States, 1961 With regard to its essential form, material use, and woodwork, this triple-sliding door cabinet is a testimon...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima CabinetBy George NakashimaLocated in New York, NYSliding Door Cabinet by George Nakashima. American black walnut, oak, brass. This cabinet features an overhanging top with a long free-edge. 3 sliding doors with 2 side compartments ...Category
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBrass
- George Nakashima Triple Chest of Drawers in American Black Walnut & LaurelBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Waalwijk, NLGeorge Nakashima, triple chest of drawers or sideboard, American black walnut, Indian laurel, United States, 1964 With regard to its essential form, material use, and woodwork, this...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Walnut Sideboard, 1961By George NakashimaLocated in Dallas, TXA walnut sideboard 60" in width, straight edge top, wood doors, sub sap streak top and sides, 4 drawers on left and shelves on right. Documentation included.Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut
- George Nakashima Sliding-Door Cabinet in Walnut and Pandanus ClothBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in Waalwijk, NLGeorge Nakashima for Nakashima Studio, sideboard, walnut, pandanus cloth, United States, 1966. With regard to its essential form, material use, and woodwork, this two-door sliding-...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut
- Free Edge George Nakashima 2-Door CabinetBy George NakashimaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLAn early cabinet consisting of 2 sliding doors concealing 4 drawers and a shelf. George Nakshima sliding door cabinet Open shelf on 1 side, 4 drawers...Category
Vintage 1960s North American Cabinets
MaterialsWalnut
