Important Design 
10 June 2021
Important Design 
101

Mira Nakashima

Conoid Cross-Legged table

Nakashima Studio
USA, 2009
myrtle burl, American black walnut 21¼ h × 30 w × 24¼ d in (54 × 76 × 62 cm)
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $13,750
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Table features an exceptionally figured single slab top with one free edge and burled details, numerous fissures and knots. Signed and dated to underside ‘Mira Nakashima April 30 2009’. Sold with a digital copy of the original invoice.
provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by Mr. John Fairey, Waller, TX | Private Collection

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Nakashima Furniture

From the Collection of John Fairey


John Fairey was a lifelong and avid horticulturalist. His global pursuits to save and maintain rare species of plants not found in his adopted home of Texas drove him to purchase and designate thirty-nine acres of land for these flora. The property was to be known as Peckerwood Garden (now called John Fairey Garden), and is an expansive display of nature, serving as a conservation hub and research mecca for rare plants sourced and maintained from Mexico, Asia, the United States and elsewhere.

Professionally trained in design, Fairey came to Texas to teach the decorative arts and design at Texas A&M University in College Station. It was here that he met George Nakashima, who often visited the university on the lecture circuit, and the two became lifelong friends. In addition to his extensive collection of Mexican folk art, Fairey amassed a noteworthy collection of Nakashima furniture.  Letters and correspondence between the two men substantiate a warm and lasting friendship.

The present lot comes from the collection of John Fairey, who sadly passed away in March of 2020.

Art is not a product of the ego but a result of being open to divine inspiration.

Mira Nakashima

Mira Nakashima b. 1942

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Since 1990, Mira Nakashima has furthered the legacy of her father, the preeminent American woodworker George Nakashima, whilst standing on her own as an artist. It was in that year, upon her father’s death, that Mira, a gifted craftsperson in her own right, took charge of the studio her father established in the 1940s. Since then, she has produced his classic and traditional lines while extending the family tradition through her own design solutions.

Mira studied Architecture Science at Harvard and, at her father’s urging, went on to earn a graduate degree at Waseda University in Japan. After graduation, she returned to her family home and accepted a part-time job working for Nakashima Studios. Apprenticing under her father taught Mira that, even for creative people, there is a certain amount of discipline and repetitive learning required to master one’s craft. Though George Nakashima was a man of few words who rarely praised her work, Mira was never discouraged. She understood that her father’s philosophy valued the common goal over the personal: a direct contrast to the Western culture’s celebration of the ego.

Embodying this philosophy, Mira, a master of her craft, has not been concerned with making her own brand. She sees her work as a continuation of her father’s, feels his presence in the studio, and continues to honor his legacy with Nakashima Studio designs. Mira’s respect for her history and heritage, coupled with her artistry, has carried Nakashima Studio into the 21st century.

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estimate: $25,000–35,000

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Frenchman's Cove II dining table

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estimate: $40,000–60,000

result: $50,800

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