Extremely Important and Unique Chigaidana Cabinet by George Nakashima, March, 1990

60h x 40w x 21d in

An extremely important and unique design that incorporates elements of George Nakashima's work from the 1930's through the 1980's. This last unique design can be seen as a self-conscious summary of his career. It was designed in 1988 and completed and signed on March 28, 1990 - shortly before he died on June 15, 1990. It is a High Chest of Drawers with a Bahut base and Chigaidana opening. 1) His high chest of drawers was originally designed in the 1950's; 2) The modernist base was originally designed in the 1980s for his Bahut; 3) The opening above the drawers is a traditional Japanese form, chigaidana, that was first used by Nakashima in 1960 for a piece in his Widdicomb line; 4) The peeled stick within the the shelves is a reference to his use of the peeled cryptomeria (as well as his similar use of bitter brush in the 1940's) that was used for his first chair design in 1936 - the Karuizawa chair for St. Paul’s Church in Japan. In summary, this unique chest is a redesign of his 1950s high chest of drawers combined with a 1980s modernist base and a traditional Japanese chigaidana (that inspired his 1960 Widdicomb design) in which he employs a reference to his 1938 chair and his 1940's use of bitter brush, by incorporating a peeled stick, 1990.