American black walnut, rosewood, hickory
The table signed and dated: "George Nakashima July 11, 1988"
The chairs each signed and dated: "George Nakashima July 11, 1988" with client's name and studio notation: "(one piece seat)"

Provenance

Acquired directly from the artist
Property from a Private New Jersey Collection

Note

A fine and impressive example of Nakashima's Conoid design. The table features a thick, single-board walnut top with 5 rosewood butterflies and richly-grained surface. The chairs each with a single-board seat in figured walnut.

This lot is sold together with the original prepatory drawing, signed and dated: "George Nakashima May 12, 1988" and the original invoice from George Nakashima Woodworker. The prepatory drawing is accompanied by Nakashima's notation: "Walnut Single Board Conoid Table - Thick Top / Top very richly grained / considerable figuring."

Literature

For the chairs:

Janet Koplos and Bruce Metcalf, Makers: A History of American Studio Craft, p. 248
Derek Ostergard, George Nakashima: Full Circle, p. 155
George Nakashima, studio catalogue, unpaginated
George Nakashina, The Soul of a Tree, pp. 38, 108, 140, 143-149, 152-153, 167, 169, 183
Mira Nakashima, Nature, Form & Spirit, pp. 172-175, 226-227

For the table:

George Nakashima, The Soul of a Tree, p. 185
Mira Nakashima, Nature, Form & Spirit, pp. 147, 174, 223