Pair of Dovetailed Dressers by George Nakashima
View Similar Items
Pair of Dovetailed Dressers by George Nakashima
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Fine vintage condition with minor surface wears in keeping with the age gentle use, including some minor dings found along the edges and bases, a few very tiny sparks of house paint. Some discoloration on the back.
- Seller Location:Atlanta, GA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU94509231173
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.
- Set of Four Captain Chairs by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Atlanta, GAA wonderful set of four American black Walnut 'Captain" chairs handcrafted by George Nakashima in his New Hope Studio in 1976. These chairs were designed with creative exposed joints...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWalnut
$23,000 / set - Walnut Sideboard with Top Shelf by George NakashimaBy George NakashimaLocated in Atlanta, GAA two-piece custom sideboard pr credenza handcrafted by George Nakashima, circa 1969 in his new hope studio. It is constructed with American black walnut with solid oak interiors. Th...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsWalnut, Oak
- Rare Japanese Export Marquetry Cabinet with Drawers on StandLocated in Atlanta, GAA piece of functional art made in Shizuoka for export to the western market, this Japanese chest with drawers on stand, circa 1900s features intricate marquetry work using a traditio...Category
Early 20th Century Japanese Japonisme Cabinets
MaterialsBrass
- Architectural walnut dresser by Edmond SpenceBy Edmond J. SpenceLocated in Atlanta, GAA long dresser in walnut designed by Edmond J. Spence and made in Sweden. It features a slightly curved front and three stacks of twelves drawers in total supported by brass-capped f...Category
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsBrass
$9,600 Sale Price20% Off - Rare Unique Cabinet Chest with Drawers Pedro FriedebergBy Pedro FriedebergLocated in Atlanta, GAA one of kind cabinet with drawers crafted by Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg (1937-). It features a red and gilt cabinet or chest of drawers supported by ten red-painted legs and gilt feet. Three tiers of drawers display a graduate width and retain the original bronze hardware pulls...Category
Vintage 1960s Mexican Cabinets
MaterialsWood
- One of a Kind Custom Dry Bar Cabinet by Philip JohnsonBy Philip JohnsonLocated in Atlanta, GAA one of a kind unique custom piece from celebrated American architect Philip Johnson (1906-2005). This tiger maple bar cabinet was designed by Philip J...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsChrome
$12,000 Sale Price25% Off
- Pair of Widdicomb Bedroom Dressers in the Style of George NakashimaBy Widdicomb Furniture Co., George NakashimaLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stunning pair of Mid-Century bedroom dressers features the rich natural finish and sculpted drawer pulls in the style of the George Nakashima "Origins" line, utilized so beautifully. Sculpted triangular legs and uniquely concave drawer...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dressers
MaterialsWalnut
$8,750 Sale Price / set37% Off - 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
$125,000 - George Nakashima for Widdicomb Long Dresser Credenza Cabinet Burl Sliding DoorsBy George Nakashima, John WiddicombLocated in Rockaway, NJGeorge Nakashima for widdicomb long dresser credenza cabinet burl sliding doors mint!Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsWalnut, Burl
- Pair of George IV CabinetsBy George SmithLocated in Greenwich, CTFine pair of George IV collector’s cabinets in the Grecian manner popularized by Thomas Hope and George Smith having Santa Anna marble tops over frieze mold...Category
Antique Early 19th Century English George IV Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMarble
$16,500 / set - George Nakashima "Origins" Tall ChestBy George NakashimaLocated in San Francisco, CAGeorge Nakashima "Origins" tall chest for Widdicomb. Rare example with a figured burl door and drawers for every necescity rising on a splayed base, newly refinished and ready to install. Massive amounts of clothing storage...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsBrass
- 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