J. B. Blunk (b. 1926)
Lot 194: J. B. BLUNK
Phillips
More About this Item
Description
Unique low table
Dimensions
16 x 59 x 36 in. (40.6 x 149.9 x 91.4 cm.)
Artist or Maker
J. B. BLUNK 1926-2002
Medium
Buckeye burl.
Date
ca. 1985
Literature
Todd Merrill and Julie V. Iovine, eds., Modern Americana: Studio Furniture from High Craft to High Glam, New York, 2008, illustrated p. 40
Provenance
Estate of the artist; Sotheby’s, Important 20th Century Design, June 19, 2007, Lot 139
Notes
This low dining table was commissioned in the mid-1980s by a Japanese client from California artist J.B. Blunk. Given the irregularities of burl, the client became concerned about the table's practicality. Blunk produced for him a second example in rosewood and kept the present lot in his personal collection. Carved by hand and by chainsaw from a single piece of buckeye burl, the table is evidence of Blunk's superior woodworking abilities in service to the natural characteristics of the wood.