George Nakashima
Special Turned Leg Dining Table, 1959
Material: American Black Walnut, Rosewood
An exceptional Special Turned Leg Dining Table by George Nakashima from 1959. This early example features dramatic, free-edged book-matched boards atop a turned leg base. The work’s top is a biomorphic, free form shape which breaks completely free of rectilinear standards and precedents, completely embracing the natural form of the tree from which the boards were sourced.
Additionally, the work’s top includes five Rosewood butterfly joints, a signature Nakashima structural and aesthetic motif.
George Nakashima was born in Spokane, Washington in 1905 to Japanese parents who had immigrated to the United States. Educated and trained as an architect at the University of Washington, Nakashima received his Master’s degree in Architecture from M.I.T. in 1930. After working briefly as an architect in the United States he left for Paris seeking the creative energies of one of the great urban centers of the day. From there he traveled extensively, ending up at the home of his grandmother, living on a farm on the outskirts of Tokyo.
| Dimensions | 102 × 55 × 28.25 in |
|---|---|
| Artist | |
| Date | 1959 |
| Material | American black walnut |
| Style |
