October 8, 2017 12:00 EST
Design
81
GEORGE NAKASHIMA (AMERICAN, 1905-1990)
THE FROSH FAMILY SANSO "RECEPTION HOUSE" TABLE AND
SET OF SIX CONOID CHAIRS, NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA, 1981 English walnut, American black walnut, rosewood, hickory The table signed with client's name and dated: "Frosh 1981" The chairs with single slab seats, each signed with client's name: "Frosh"
H: 28, W: 60, D: 84 1/2 in. (table), H: 35 1/2, W: 21, D: 21 in. (chairs)
Provenance: Property from an Important Family Collection, Washington, D.C.
Acquired directly from the artist
Thence by descent
Sold for $187,500
Estimated at $100,000 - $150,000
SET OF SIX CONOID CHAIRS, NEW HOPE, PENNSYLVANIA, 1981 English walnut, American black walnut, rosewood, hickory The table signed with client's name and dated: "Frosh 1981" The chairs with single slab seats, each signed with client's name: "Frosh"
Provenance: Property from an Important Family Collection, Washington, D.C.
Acquired directly from the artist
Thence by descent
LOT ESSAY:
Built by George Nakashima for the family of Stanley Frosh, a prominent judge and close family friend, this impressive table is named for the Reception House (also known as the Sanso or Mountain Villa), the last building designed and built by George Nakashima on his New Hope, Pennsylvania compound from 1975-77. Today, the Sanso Villa showcases a number of Nakashima masterworks, including the earliest designed Sanso table, built for the space with two large bookmatched English walnut slabs. Nakashima's mastery is on full display in these monumental forms, highlighting the extraordinary crotch grain of the wood, cradled by a delicate support system. The Frosh table is likely one of the earliest of these Sanso forms, a design that was later adapted by George Nakashima for his even larger Altars for Peace. These Altars were meant to be placed on every continent, tables around which George envisioned people from all over the world coming together "for prayer, meditation and contemplation." George began the project in 1984 and it is continued today by Mira Nakashima and the George Nakashima Foundation for Peace.
LITERATURE:
George Nakashima, The Soul of a Tree, pp. 38, 176-177 (for images and a discussion of the Sanso Villa)
Mira Nakashima, Nature Form and Spirit, pp. 224-229 (for images and a discussion of the Sanso Villa), pp. 236-242 (for images and a discussion of the Peace Altars)
Derek Ostergard, Full Circle, pp. 86-87 (for an image and discussion of the Peace Altars)
NOTE:
This work is accompanied by a photocopy of the original invoice fron George Nakashima Woodworker. We would like to thank Mira Nakashima for her assistance in the cataloguing of this work.
