Knoll George Nakashima Tray

Mixing Eastern and Western aesthetics, traditional and modern vocabularies, George Nakashima’s work defies typical categorization. He is one of the most recognized and celebrated craftsmen of the 20th century, known primarily for his handmade furniture and sensitivity to material.

In the early 1940s, Hans and Florence Knoll met Nakashima and, impressed by the simple elegance of his aesthetic, added a chair and three tables of his design to the Knoll catalog. The early orders were made in Nakashima’s own studio, before production was moved to East Greenville. The line was discontinued in 1955 when Nakashima opted to produce and market all of his designs himself.

Designed to complement the Splay-Leg Table, the Nakashima Tray exemplifies the designer’s talent for synthesizing traditional influences and modern simplicity.

MEASUREMENTS:

• Height: 4.3 cm / 1.7 inch


• Width: 79.5 cm / 31.3 inch


• Depth: 40.6 cm / 16 inch

MATERIALS:

• Tray is available with Douglas Fir top and Brazilian Santos or Wenge edge detail

HELPFUL NOTES:

• Finished in a clear, low-sheen finish


• George Nakashima’s signature is stamped on the underside of the tray

George Nakashima

USA, 1905 – 1990

Born in Spokane, Washington in 1905, George Nakashima received a Bachelor degree in architecture at the University of Washington and a Masters degree from MIT in 1930. After spending some time in Paris, he traveled around the world and secured a job at the architectural offices of Antonin Raymond in Tokyo, which sent him to Pondicherry, India, where he was the onsite architect for the first reinforced concrete building in that country.

When the Second World War broke out he returned to the U.S. and was sent to the interment camps in Idaho with his infant daughter and wife. In 1943, Antonin Raymond successfully sponsored Nakashima’s release from the camp and invited him to his farm in Pennsylvania where he built a studio and workshop.

Nakashima explored the organic expressiveness of wood and choosing boards with knots, burls and interesting grain. He designed furniture lines for Knoll, including the Straight Back Chair, a modernist take on the traditional Windsor chair. Drawing on Japanese designs and shop practices, as well as on American and international modern styles, Nakashima created a body of work that would make his name synonymous with the best of 20th century American Art furniture.

Shop all designs by George Nakashima