1971 George Nakashima Conoid Bench & Drawing
Watch
GUEST:
In 1970, my dad decided to watch a football game with my brother, and my mom and I took a little drive into the country with a relative, and we went to New Hope, Pennsylvania. She'd heard about a woodworker, George Nakashima. So we went to his workshop, met him, and took a look at some of the furniture. Within a couple of months, they decided they wanted a bench made and communicated with him, and he sent a drawing to us of what that bench would look like, and here it is.
APPRAISER:
It's extraordinary that you have this drawing by George Nakashima, truly a master American craftsman. You met him in person?
GUEST:
We did, we did.
APPRAISER:
What was he like?
GUEST:
It was pretty exciting. You know, I was 12 years old, and I just don't remember that much, I'm so sorry.
APPRAISER:
Well, I can maybe fill in a little bit of the blanks, because my brother went to school in the New Hope area.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
And while he was driving around in his pickup truck, he met George, and George said to these bunch of teenagers, "If you guys," you know, "if you're driving around the countryside "and you see any big trees fallen down, call me first." (laughs)
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Because, of course, he knew these kids were carousing in their pickup trucks at night. I've seen furniture by George Nakashima, and the drawings, You notice along the top of it, it says, "Please confirm if satisfactory."
GUEST:
(laughs) I know-- I thought that was really special.
APPRAISER:
He lays it out for you. He's even chosen the piece of wood, and in his studio, he had planks and planks of wood that...
GUEST:
I do remember that.
APPRAISER:
Do you?
GUEST:
Yes, I do.
APPRAISER:
Well, he was in love with wood. And the thing that fascinates me about him, this great master of mid-century furniture, is that a lot of his contemporaries were making material in more a manufactured way, and he loved the hand process. And so he chose these pieces so carefully, and you can really see that. I mean, it comes to life in this drawing, where he talks about the textured knot. And, of course, the textured knot is right here in front of us. I mean, there's just no mistake that this drawing goes to this bench. It's just this combination-- of course, he's a Japanese American, born in Washington-- but this combination of Americana and also Japanese sensibilities. The top of this bench looks to me like a torii arch from Japan, coming into a Shinto temple.
GUEST:
It does.
APPRAISER:
And when George came to the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area in the '40s, he looked at Americana and looked at Windsor benches. So this is this 18th-century Windsor bench brought into a 20th-century sensibility. A lot of his furniture was done in a walnut. There was a lot of walnut in the Pennsylvania area. He also uses imported woods, as well, but, but this is a cherry, and probably indigenous. And then these stiles are hickory. Any idea of its value?
GUEST:
We had it valued by the Nakashima Group in early 2000, and it was, I think, around $6,000. But I'd love to get an update on that, because I'd really like to have it insured.
APPRAISER:
Well, your parents paid $375 for this?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
The market has exploded in Nakashima furniture. Benches like this at auction are selling for $40,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my God.
APPRAISER:
Now, because you have the drawing, you get to add a few thousand more on top of that. So say we're at the $45,000 mark. For insurance, you might want to raise it higher. But this is, I'd say $45,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my God.
APPRAISER:
It's just red-hot now in the marketplace.
GUEST:
Well, we love it, and we use it every day in the living room, so we take very good care of it.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
