A major week in table news: Susan sold the Le Corbusier LC 6 dining table at Maiden and Don (my man with a van and favorite person) and I swapped in my personal favorite, Makio Hasuike’s 1989 “Metra” dining table produced by Seccose.
The design is ingenious: you can unscrew the tabletop at the eight junctures and collapse the base. I sold one of these to the interior designer of Only Love Strangers (I haven’t been except to drop off the table, and yes, there was an incident and no, I’m not sorry—I did not like how they talked to Don!). When I bought my second of these, even I was kind of like, baby, . . . you have a problem. But I have been vindicated, so 0 lessons learned. I have one additional glass top dining table: a Giovanni Offredi Paracarro that is back-breakingly heavy. Friend-of-the-stack Nate may buy it. Clap if you think he should buy it! [ED: He just bought it.]
And with that my hoard of glass top tables is depleted. Sad to consider. What happens to a hoard dispersed?
In his Baer Faxt interview, Alexander Rower (Alexander Calder’s grandson and the president of the Calder Foundation) noted how historically recent artist foundations are. I was struck by how strange it is to imagine a personal hoard being of such import as to merit being actively managed in perpetuity. There are clear market incentives to organizations that can credentialize assets, and there’s a romance of the artist that supports the creation of what is, in some sense, a cult. Yet as an auction watcher, I’m accustomed to seeing collections broken up all the time (my favorite auctions are single owner estate auctions, seeing what one or two people put together over a lifetime, across categories). It’s sad to see a collection scattered, but it’s also sad to see the cherry blossoms fall. Things fall apart.
Or maybe it’s just time to re-hoard :))))) I will now be accepting donations for the David Lê Foundation for Tables. Any contribution helps, but we’re hoping someone will offer a matching grant of up to $100,000, and then everyone else can kick in $100,000 in straight donations! Can you imagine what kind of tables I could get for 200K? Reinforce the floors!!!
For my precious new subscribers: Landed cost (the final cost you pay) = the hammer price (the highest bid) + the premium (a set percentage added to the hammer price that the auction house takes) + shipping (you’re almost always on the hook for this) + sales tax
To the listings!
Two callouts here—first, note the intaglio at center: I think it’s a mother and child. Second, it’s really all about the asymmetrical gilt frame. Feels very modern.
These look insanely heavy. But they’re cool and everyone is always looking for pedestals (as I type that, I know it can’t be true). I’d use one as a side table that’s high—37” so 7” higher than standard table height, which is nice.
I have once again been seeing distressing wedding rings. This is fabulous. Mixed metals, sapphire and diamond, unisex for the bold.
Favorite piece this week. St. Nicholas of Tolentino self-flagellating with a real palm frond. Did you know the instrument of penance used to whip yourself is called a “discipline”?
I know you’re not going to buy this. I’ve seen pictures of your house . . . But if I were ever designing a house I would actually start with pieces like this and then design the space around them. If anyone has a wall that’s 127” long, think about it.
I like these. They may go for cheap.
Stow Davis was folded into Steelcase. The listing keeps mentioning Florence Knoll but like, that feels like referring to Solange as “Beyoncé’s sister.” Like, yes, but hasn’t she done enough at this point? Put some respect on her name. They did a nice job with the sunburst woodgrain on the tabletop.
Massive rug, very cool. I wrote about Nichols rugs back in Digest 7. If the roundel makes you uncomfortable (which it should not) you can put a chair/couch over it.
This seems fun. Sonneman, hit or miss but again, fun.
I’m off to Fire Island tomorrow. Can anyone figure out the last name on the signature?
May the hammer fall ever in your favor!