George Nakashima (1905-1990) coffee table, 16 inches high, 71 inches wide, 20 inches deep. A featured lot in Showplace Antique Center¹s Aug. 9 sale of art, industrial design and mid-century furniture. Estimate $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Showplace Antique Center.NEW YORK – Although silent, each tree has its own personality. George Nakashima (1905-1990) was the first to embrace the knotholes, fissures and splits in wood as wondrous expressions of nature rather than imperfections. While most furniture makers discard the thin, irregular ends of slabs, Nakashima integrated them into his designs. Known as “free edges,” those elements are factors in determining the value of a piece. Basically, the more free edges, the greater the value.
Born in Spokane, Wash., to immigrant Japanese parents of Samurai lineage, Nakashima was the firstborn son of a newspaper reporter. As an Eagle Scout, he hiked in the Cascade Mountains, where he became enchanted by towering hemlocks and Douglas firs.
“Each tree, each part of each tree, has its own particular destiny, its own special yearning to be fulfilled,” he later wrote. “We work this material to fulfill this yearning of nature to find its destiny, to give this absolute inanimate object a second life, to release its richness, its beauty, to read its history and its life.”
Nakashima studied architecture in Paris, worked in Tokyo and spent two years in India as a yoga disciple of Sri Aurobindo after he volunteered to design structures and furniture there without pay. At the ashram, he was given the name Sundarananda, which means “one who delights in beauty.”
On the eve of World War II, he returned home to the United States. In 1942, Nakashima and his family were interned in a camp for Japanese-Americans in Idaho, where he apprenticed himself to an elderly Japanese furniture maker.
After the war, they moved to an artists’ colony in New Hope, Pa., where Nakashima would spend the rest of his long and productive life. Today, his workshop remains vibrant with the creations of his talented designer daughter, Mira Nakashima.
Nakashima freeform furniture designs are highly prized, and many examples are displayed at museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Boston Fine Arts Museum, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo.
At auction, Nakashima furniture entered the six-figure realm years ago. A dining table sold for $129,250 at a June 2004 sale at a West Coast auction house, at the time setting a world record. The massive work – 8 feet in diameter – was crafted in the 1960s from an English oak log and featured natural fissures, an intricate base of clustered braces and butterfly joinery in East Indian laurel wood.
In October 2007, a coffee table in the Minguren I, a design typified by a freeform maple burl top, single rosewood butterfly key and solid frame, and a walnut coffee table in the same form each fetched $144,000 at the Sollo Rago Modern sale in Lambertville, New Jersey.
Searching LiveAuctioneers.com is the fastest, most efficient way to locate George Nakashima furniture, some of which is affordable to the majority of collectors. For example, a George Nakashima freeform coffee table will be offered in Showplace Antique Center’s Aug. 9 auction in New York, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. Click here to view their entire catalog or to sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet on auction day.
– – – – Catherine Saunders-Watson contributed to this report, which contains excerpts from Eileen Smith’s article on Nakashima furniture that appeared in the January 2008 issue of Style Century Magazine.
Closeup of natural characteristics in the wood used to create the Nakashima coffee table. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Showplace Antique Center.
Lot 655 Large molded and gilded sheet-copper rooster weathervane attributed to J.W. Fiske, New York, late 19th century, est. $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Skinner Inc.
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Skinner Inc. is among the foremost authorities on American furniture and decorative arts. Their specialty Americana auctions, which have grown by leaps and bounds, are now held at the company’s spacious new gallery in Marlborough, Mass., 40 miles west of Boston.
Their next such offering, a 787-lot sale featuring but not limited to American country furniture and decorative arts, folk art, paintings, rare clocks, American textiles, needlework and even early cast-iron banks, will take place on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009. Internet live bidding will be available on auction day through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
The sale opens will a fine mix of country pieces, including baskets, treen, stoneware and a bounty of painted wood: chests, lapped-seam pantry boxes, bowls, small furnishings and more.
A classic timekeeper, a circa-1810 Federal mahogany 8-day tall clock signed by Joshua Wilder of Hingham, Mass., has a pierced fret and finial plinths, and a bird and flowers painted into the arch. The clock is expected to make $15,000-$20,000.
A handsome 19th-century paint-decorated apothecary chest of New England origin boasts 20 drawers, each with painted lettering to identify the contents. With excellent provenance, it may bring $10,000-$15,000 at auction.
Tea tables are always in demand. An especially nice form is the 18th-century Queen Anne red-painted oval-top example estimated at $8,000-$10,000.
Although it is a recent creation, a late-20th or early 21st century 5-part mural by Don Aikens should draw its fair share of interest from devotees of nautical art. Titled Natasket Beach Steamship Company, the 92-inch by 234-inch mural is entered with an estimate of $10,000-$15,000.
Many additional highlights are illustrated below.
To speak with a specialist about any item in the sale, call 508-970-3279 or e-mail Americana@skinnerinc.com. To view the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com, click here.
Lot 226 Small carved and painted emperor penguin figure, Charles Hart (1862-1960), Gloucester, Mass., c. 1935, est. $800-$1,200. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Skinner Inc. Lot 453 American school, 19th-century portrait of a gray tiger cat, est. $800-$1,200. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Skinner Inc. Lot 254 William & Mary maple oval-top gateleg table, New England, early 18th century, est. $2,000-$4,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Skinner Inc. Lot 94 Redware plate with yellow slip inscription of the name Sally, 19th century, est. $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Skinner Inc. Lot 433 Queen Anne maple tall chest of drawers, attributed to Peter Bartlett, Salisbury, Mass., c. 1800, est. $1,500-$2,500. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com and Skinner Inc.
The ivory hands and face of this chryselephantine sculpture by Walter Schott (German, 1861-1938) are in sound condition. The gilded bronze is from the Gladenbeck Foundry, Berlin. Image courtesy DuMouchelles.DETROIT – While literally in the shadow of the GM Renaissance Center, DuMouchelles doesn’t take a back seat to anyone when it comes to conducting Cadillac-grade auctions. DuMouchelles’ next sale, Aug. 14-16, promises a wealth of fine art, antiques and jewelry that will turn tire kickers into discriminating buyers.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
DuMouchelles’ lineup will be a blend of American and imports, from a fine painting by Detroit’s own Douglas Arthur Teed to a 14-inch chryselephantine figure of a dancer – a real beauty – by German sculptor Walter Schott.
Friday’s session begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern and will include American furnishings, lighting, jewelry, cast-iron banks, Chinese porcelains and a collection of firearms and knives.
Saturday’s sale will start right up at 11 a.m. Eastern with a 9-inch Newcomb College Pottery vase signed “R.B.K.” for Roberta Kennon, which has a $500-$1,000 estimate.
Five lots later will be a set of 10 English porcelain plates retailed by Tiffany & Co., which DuMouchelles partner Joan Walker anticipates will be the “sleeper” of the auction.
“Each is hand-painted with a different scene and signed ‘Hartman.’ They’re absolutely exquisite,” said Walker. “The price (estimate, $500-$800) is low but they should get a lot of attention.”
From the same Birmingham, Mich., estate is a modern ladder-form glass sculpture by Therman Statom in 1953. The painted glass ladder, mounted with glass accents, is 82 inches high by 20 1/2 inches wide. It has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate.
Walker said that she is fond of a d’ore bronze bust of a smiling child by Jean Antoine Injalbert (French, 1845-1933). Mounted on an onyx pedestal, the bust is 19 1/4 inches high and has a $2,000-$3,000.
More than 170 lots of fine art will be sold on Sunday beginning at noon. An 18th-century oil on canvas painting by French artist Jean Baptiste Huet of a woodland scene with a young couple and dogs, 23 1/2 by 28 1/4 inches, is estimated at $20,000-$30,000. “It’s very well done,” commented Walker.
An oil on canvas painting titled Grand Bazaar, Cairo is by Detroit artist Douglas Arthur Teed (1863-1929). The 24- by 30-inch painting has a label on the back from Detroit Institute of Arts dated 1927, the year the artist entered it in an exhibition at the museum. In its original frame and in good condition, the painting carries a $5,000-$6,000 estimate.
From a Bloomfield Hills, Mich., estate is a charming genre scene by Antonio Bianchi (Italian b. 1875) of a beautiful young girl straightening an older gentleman’s necktie. The oil on canvas painting is 29 by 24 inches and estimated at $4,000-$5,000.
A 13-inch gilded bronze sculpture by Theophile Somme (French, 1871-1952) of a Middle Eastern dancer is estimated at $2,000-$3,000.
Two KPM hand-painted porcelain plaques will be offered. One titled Last Day of Pompeii is 13 by 8 inches and is in a gilt Florentine frame. It has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. The other is after Raphael’s Sistine Madonna and is 15 1/8 by 12 1/4. Its estimate is $8,000-$10,000.
A Pablo Picasso white earthenware charger dated 1956 and inscribed “Vallauris” is another of Sunday’s highlights. The plate is 16 5/8 inches in diameter and has a $5,000-$7,000 estimate.
Wristwatch collectors will pick from a collection of about 30 of the finest by Rolex, Cartier and Tag Heuer. A Piaget lady’s wristwatch has 92 round-cut diamonds in an 18-karat yellow gold band and a $10,000-$15,000 estimate.
“It’s an incredible collection of sophisticated wristwatches,” said Walker.
DuMouchelles’ auction gallery is located at 409 E. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Detroit.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Newcomb Pottery artist Roberta Kennon decorated this 9-inch vase, which has a $500-$1,000 estimate. Image courtesy DuMouchelles. Brownsfield, a venerable English pottery, produced this set of hand-painted porcelain plates for Tiffany & Co. around the turn of the 20th century. Each of the 9-inch plates is artist signed and titled on the reverse. Image courtesy DuMouchelles. Titled ‘Last Day of Pompeii,’ this KPM plaque is marked ‘Glave’ in the right center. It has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy DuMouchelles. Fine detail is noted in this oil on canvas painting attributed to Jean Baptiste Huet (French, 1745-1811). It carries a $20,000-$30,000 estimate. Image courtesy DuMouchelles. Douglas Arthur Teed, who died in Detroit in 1929, traveled through the Middle East from 1907 to 1911. He painted this 24- by 30-inch oil on canvas, ‘Grand Bazaar, Cairo’ in 1921. Image courtesy DuMouchelles.
FBI mugshot of notorious 1930s bank robber John Dillinger.
CHICAGO – Americana and Chicago-related material were highlights of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ July 28 Fine Books and Manuscripts auction. The event was right on target with expectations, achieving $212,210 against the high estimate of $211,250, with 85 percent of lots selling.
A letter penned by notorious 1930s-era bank robber John Dillinger sold for $60,400 – 10 times the presale high estimate of $6,000. Dated Dec. 18, 1932, the letter was written by Dillinger during his incarceration at the Crown Point jail in Lake County, Indiana. He writes his niece, Mary Hancock, expressing his wish to be with the family at Christmas, and says it will be his last Christmas in jail. He goes on to press his niece for details about her current boyfriend and jokes that he may need to borrow money once he’s released from jail. Dillinger would later famously escape from the Crown Point jail using a fake gun carved out of wood.
Likewise, the highly anticipated Colt Army Special .38 revolver used by East Chicago Police Captain Timothy O’Neil in the final shootout with Dillinger at the Biograph Theatre ignited heated competition among five telephone bidders. The gun sold for $36,400 to Wayne Lensing, owner of the Historic Auto Attractions Museum in Roscoe, Illinois.
John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903-July 22, 1934) was a feared criminal in the Midwestern United States during the early 1930s. He was responsible for the murder of several police officers and robbed no fewer than two dozen banks and four police stations. He escaped from jail twice, but some people idolized him as a modern-day Robin Hood. He was nicknamed “the Jackrabbit” for his close getaways from police and graceful movements during heists, such as leaping over counters.
After his escape from the Crown Point jail, Dillinger spent nearly a year running from police and hiding out in Florida, Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin. He was wounded in one escape from police and covertly recovered at his father’s home. He returned to Chicago in July 1934, the site of several of his most highly publicized crimes. After a tip from a prostitute, police tracked down the fugitive. On July 22, they closed in on the theater where he was watching a movie, and waited to arrest him as he left the building. Dillinger pulled a weapon and attempted to flee but was shot three times and killed when a bullet hit his face.
His robberies and numerous escapes had been so sensationalized in the media that Dillinger’s heinous legend remained in the American public’s consciousness for many decades. In 1973, the movie Dillinger was released. In the acclaimed 2009 film Public Enemies, Johnny Depp plays the role of John Dillinger, attesting that the 1930s crime-spree era is still fascinating to many.
Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ next Fine Books and Manuscripts auction will take place on November 19. Call 312-280-1212 for more information.
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Some of the historical information in this article was sourced through Wikipedia.org.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Letter written by John Dillinger to his niece while incarcerated, together with a photo of Dillinger and an official Wanted poster. Auctioned at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on July 28, 2009 for $60,400 – 10 times the high estimate. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.
Statues collectively known as The Petrified, at entrance to The International Red Cross Museum in Geneva. Photo by Julia Lukmanova. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
GENEVA (AP) – This city on Lake Geneva with a view of snowcapped Mont Blanc is one of the world’s most expensive cities, with famous shops selling exquisite jewelry and luxury watches. But window-shopping is not the only option for those on a budget. Explore the medieval center of “the city of peace,” its parks and the lake. Take advantage of free transit passes offered to visitors. And enjoy the city’s international ambiance, with residents from 180 countries drawn by the U.N. and other organizations.
GETTING AROUND: Just before leaving the baggage claim area at Geneva airport, look for a machine that dispenses free passes for area buses, trams and trains. The pass is valid for 80 minutes from the time you get it. The train to the city center takes six minutes.
Hotels, hostels and camp sites give guests another free pass for the duration of their stay. You can take unlimited rides on city buses, trams, taxi boats across the lake and return to the airport by train.
Geneva is relatively small – population 188,000 – and most sights are within walking distance of Lake Geneva and the city center. Bikes can be borrowed free at different locations – http://www.geneveroule.ch/en. You only need to show your passport or ID card and leave a refundable deposit of $18.65 (20 Swiss francs).
A pleasant way to cross the lake is in the romantic little yellow taxi boats called Mouettes that stop at five lakeside docks – http://www.mouettesgenevoises.ch/en/index.php.
CHEAP STAYS: The cheapest Geneva hotels start around $93 (100 francs) for a single. The Youth Hostel – on 30 rue Rothschild close to the lake – provides a dormitory bed for $27 (29 francs). Book early because demand is high, particularly in summer, http://www.genevahostel.ch/en/index.html.
At the City Hostel Geneva – on 2 rue Ferrier, near the main train station – dormitory rates are $30 (32 francs). A single room is $61 (65 francs) and a double $81 (87 francs). Book in advance at http://www.cityhostel.ch/english/.
For information on bed and breakfasts on the outskirts, starting at $56 (60 francs) a night, or for camp sites outside Geneva, visit http://www.geneve-tourisme.ch/ and click on “English” and “Accommodation.”
CHEAP EATS: At Geneva’s street festivals you find grilled Swiss sausages and a variety of Latin-American food under $10 (10 francs). There are many options walking distance from the main train station. The popular Lebanese cafe Au Parfum de Beyrouth at 18 rue de Berne near the train station has good kebabs and vegetarian falafels for less than $8 (8 francs).
The Paquis Baths at the small lighthouse on the lake has a cafeteria with a lake terrace that offers a menu of the day for $11-$13 (12 or 14 francs) at lunchtime and 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Try homemade cakes and fresh juice. It’s also the most popular swimming spot in the clean lake water. It’s free after 8 p.m., otherwise a little under $2 (2 francs).
Mandarin, 1-3 rue de Chantepoulet, offers dim sum delicacies on Sundays 12 p.m.-5:30 p.m. for about $4.60-$6.50 (5-7 francs) a small dish.
Mosaique, 31 rue du Mole, is a small Eritrean restaurant. The meat dish is $15 (16 francs) and the vegetarian dish $12 (13 francs). Eat with your fingers.
Across the Mont Blanc bridge over the Rhone River leaving the lake, you’ll find Au Big Sandwich, also called Chez Raffaele, at 10 rue des Eaux-Vives, with various sandwiches around $6-$8 (6.80-8.80 francs), homemade salads, pasta dishes and other Italian delicacies to take away.
Chez Ma Cousine at 6 Bourg-de-Four in the heart of the Old Town serves mouthwatering chicken dishes at less than $14 (15 francs).
Les Armures, 1 rue Puits-St.-Pierre, near the cathedral, is one of the most popular places for the famous fondue cheese dish and other traditional Swiss food. The restaurant is reasonably priced as Geneva goes. Fondue is $23-$26 (25-27.50 francs) per person.
Near a large open area known as Plainpalais back down in the city, there is Feuille de banane at 29 rue de Carouge, an Asian fast food restaurant where you can enjoy good Thai and Chinese specialties, if you can stand the occasionally rude waiters. Plates are $12-18 (13-19 francs).
MUST-SEES: Lake Geneva, or Lac Leman, is a good starting point. Families stroll along the esplanade, picnicking amid the flowers in the adjacent gardens. There’s even free wireless Internet access.
Walk past Geneva’s signature Jet d’eau, the towering fountain rising 460 feet (140 meters) from a jetty in the lake.
Don’t miss one of the city’s best ice cream shops, the Arlecchino on rue du 31 decembre, right across the street, offering 30-40 flavors of homemade ice cream at $3.25 (3.50 francs) a dip.
Farther along Quai Gustav Ador you’ll find free lawn chairs close to the Baby Plage beach where you can walk into the water. There are no changing cabins, but admission is free.
Sailing fans should see the America’s Cup trophy on display at the nearby Societe Nautique de Geneve, home to champion Alinghi.
Back at the Jardin Anglais (English Garden) you can see the flower clock _ a symbol of Geneva’s famous watch industry.
Cross the Mont Blanc bridge and take a right along Quai du Mont Blanc past the Paquis Baths to find Palais Wilson, once headquarters of the U.N.’s predecessor League of Nations. Named for U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who advocated for the league’s creation, the palais now houses the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
From there on a clear day you can look across the lake to the white peak of Mont Blanc, at 15,780 feet (4,810 meters) the highest mountain in the Alps.
Back on the other side of the Rhone, St. Peter’s Cathedral (Saint Pierre) tops the Old Town in charmingly tangled cobblestone streets. Religious reformer John Calvin, whose 500th birthday is being celebrated this year, made the cathedral his home base. On days with good visibility, you can climb the towers of the cathedral for $3.75 (4 francs) and overlook the city toward the Alps and the Jura mountains.
Stop for a drink in a sidewalk cafe in the Bourg-de-Four, a trading center in ancient times and popular meeting place today. Bastions Park, a short walk from the Old Town, features the Reformation Wall _ a monument backed against part of the city’s ancient defensive walls, that boasts 16-foot (5-meter) high statues of Calvin and three other major leaders in the Protestant Reformation.
Across town you can see the United Nations’ Palais des Nations, which hosts peace, disarmament and other international talks. Take tram 15 or 13 from the train station to Nations. A giant three-legged chair symbolizes the tragedy of injuries and deaths from land mines. Opposite is the new 196-foot (60-meter) long mural by 100-year-old Swiss artist Hans Erni. Uphill to the left is the international Red Cross museum and the entrance to the U.N., both of which charge $9.35 (10-franc) entrance fees.
Walking down from the square along Avenue de la Paix, you’ll find the city’s free Jardin Botanique (botanical gardens).
Geneva’s museums offer free admission the first Sunday of the month. Most are closed Mondays.
CRUISES: Lake Geneva, the biggest lake in western Europe, is known for strong winds ideal for sailing and sailboarding.
Paddlewheel steamboats regularly cross the lake, including stops both in France and elsewhere in Switzerland. Tickets are pricey but the boats are included in Eurail passes. InterRail holders pay half price; http://www.cgn.ch/eng.
CONCERTS and FESTIVALS: In summer, open-air concerts and festivals revive the quiet city. Fetes de Geneve, the annual street festival on the lakeside running July 30-Aug. 9, offers numerous free concerts, dance floors with disco and Latin American music, rides (for a fee) and a big fireworks show Aug. 8.
Park La Grange hosts free summer concerts ranging from rock music to French chanson on Wednesdays and Fridays. Bring a picnic; http://www.ville-ge.ch/culture/musiques/.
Free jazz concerts are offered on Mondays in the courtyard of Geneva’s historical town hall:
Listen to free organ concerts in St. Peter’s Cathedral, Saturdays at 6 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Details on these and other attractions can be found at http://www.geneve-tourisme.ch/. Click on “English,” then “Discover,” “Culture,” or “Events.”
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-CS-07-29-09 2115EDT
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Panoramic view of Geneva. Image by MadGeographer. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Click here to view Showplace Antique Center Inc.’s complete catalog.
