A Record Price For Nakashima At Skinner's 20th Century Sale

BOSTON, MASS.

:A massive George Nakashima table became the top lot at Skinner this past Saturday, June 24, during its Twentieth Century Furniture and Decorative Arts sale. It sold to an unidentified collector bidding on the phone for a record price paid at auction for the craftsman, bringing $204,000.

The free-edge table was constructed with an English oak burl top that measured 87 by 54 inches; the base was walnut. The table was made for the Reverend Thomas W. Phelan, from whose estate it came. Phelan was a chaplain and teacher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and friend of Nakashima. The table was completed in 1976 and was accompanied by a copy of the original receipt from 1973.

Other Nakashima items to do well included two small walnut shelved stands with free-form tops that each sold at $17,625, each accompanied by an original sketch. A walnut Conoid chair also saw active bidding with it selling at $11,163. A complete review of the sale will appear in a future issue.