The Rago Arts and Auction Center sells the work of modern masters at auction. The prices that these pieces bring are staggering - we could almost buy a small apartment with some of these amounts! Case in point, George Nagashima's beautiful Frenchman's Cove table pictured up to sold at auction for $252,000. See more modern treasures after the jump...
Harry Bertoia Willow lamp: $108,000
William Castle sculpted chair: $204,000
Grueby gourd-shaped vase: $84,000
For more modern design selling for a fortune, click here.
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Comments (3)
What's sort of cool is that the Nakashima woodworks are basically right across the Delaware from Rago (in Lambertville, NJ).
One reason for such high prices is that unlike many antiques or even vintage pieces, modern furniture seems to fit into current decorating trends. Plus the design just seems much more democratic rather than crafted for royalty or park avenue matrons...
Does anyone know how the walnut table got that degree of shine? Was it a wax of some sort.
It was probably finished with a polymerized tung oil or some sort of homemade concoction of his own. Polymerized tung oil gives the wood a high gloss and also pops the natural grain of the wood.