1963 George Nakashima Walnut Table
Watch
GUEST:
In 1963, my family moved from the Bronx to an apartment in New York City, in Manhattan.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And my parents, uh, worked with an interior designer in order to fix up the apartment. They, their, their tastes in furniture were a little bit different, so they figured having somebody to, to, uh, negotiate a little, would help.
APPRAISER:
Mediate?
GUEST:
And she specified this table, uh, from George Nakashima. It arrived in the house and we were all very excited. It was very beautiful, uh... The whole idea of the live edge was very different at that time. So we used this as a dining room table for, uh, 58 years.
APPRAISER:
That's great.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Your table does have a couple classic Nakashima features. Free edges and butterflies add a lot of value to the, to a piece of Nakashima. Unlike lots of other furniture...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...that, that we deal with on the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...Nakashima had a really, I think, very common-sense approach to damage to his tables.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm. Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
He referred to the, the wear and tear that furniture would, would, would receive in its day-to-day life as Kevin-izing. Mm-hmm, right. And Kevin was his son.
GUEST:
Mm hmm.
APPRAISER:
And, and he said over and over again in his writings that things that happened to the table became part of its history, part of its story, and I just love that. I re-- more than I can tell you, I love that.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Also, Nakashima's furniture is very easy to repair. That's the other thing.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
He used a really simple oil finish. So if you want to get it redone...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...it will not hurt the value whatsoever.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Probably, in this case, would enhance the value.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Especially if you have it done at the Nakashima studio in New Hope.
GUEST:
Oh, okay. Okay, yeah, we had asked about that, and they said it would be about $2,600 to...
APPRAISER:
Yeah.
GUEST:
It, it seemed a little expensive at the time, but may be worth it.
APPRAISER:
That'd be totally up to you. I mean, and I agree, it, it probably is a tad more expensive. You could have other people in, maybe, the city do it. But I think if you keep the continuity of the Nakashima name on it...
GUEST:
Yeah, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...uh, someday, if you want to sell it or your children want to sell it, they'll thank you for it, I, I promise you.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, yeah.
APPRAISER:
One thing I think that's really interesting is that you have the original paperwork.
GUEST:
For the princely sum of $150.
APPRAISER:
The collecting environment for Nakashima is worldwide.
GUEST:
Wow, really?
APPRAISER:
And it shows no sign of abating.
GUEST:
That's lovely, that's lovely to hear.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, and it surprises me. Usually, there's a lifespan to these things.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
But Nakashima has, uh, outlived the lifespan that I, that I thought possible.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, right. Well, and we've seen other furniture go up and then way down.
APPRAISER:
Exactly, yeah.
GUEST:
The last few years.
APPRAISER:
Do you have any idea what you think this table might be worth?
GUEST:
I... I do not, I, at one time in my life, I... I mean, I've, just hearing about other Nakashima tables, I, at one time in my life, I thought maybe the table's worth about $5,000, uh, but, uh, have not, you know, researched it or, or anything recently.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. I would say in the condition that it's in today, it's probably worth, at auction, $8,000 to $12,000.
GUEST:
Wow, that’s very...
APPRAISER:
And I suspect that that's probably a conservative value.
GUEST:
That's very nice to hear, very nice to hear. And it's, of course, it's the table that's so beautiful. We're, we're gonna keep 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.
