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Market Watch
Wright of Passage of Passage
These Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Imperial Hotel “Peacock” chairs were given to an American living in Tokyo just before the hotel came crashing down in 1968. Sent back to the U.S., they entertained mice in a Maine barn until the family sold them for $36,800 (including buyer’s premium) a week before press time. As we speak, these proud peacocks are on their way to Paris.
the astonishing tale of two chairs, three continents, the great Frank lloyd Wright, a barn, and Cyr auctions in gray.
Amagic twist of fate at a recent Cyr auction highlighted a pair of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) Peacock Chairs, designed for inclusion in Tokyo’s fabulous Imperial Hotel, once the best-known of Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings in Japan.
Preeningly splendid with their unmistakable hexagonal peacock motif, these chairs were scattered through the international landmark for the comfort of guests, particularly in its famed Peacock Room.
Considered the top of the Far East in 1923, the jazzy new Imperial was designed by Wright to replace an earlier, wooden version erected in 1890. Ever the iconoclast, the prickly architect surprised the crowds with a “Mayan Revival” style, incorporating a pyramid structure and Mayan motifs in the details. Despite surviving the 7.9-registered earthquake of 1923, which sundered Japan just weeks after the grand opening, time took the greater toll on the hotel in the years to come. Amid controversy, the Imperial was dismantled in 1967 when it was deemed to be in an advanced state of decay. The facade and pool were moved to The Museum Meiji Mura, an architectural preservation park outside Nagoya, while the rest of the extravagance was demolished in 1968 to make way for a new hotel on the site.
The earliest models of Wright’s signature peacock chairs had wicker seats, sides, and backs, and loosely upholstered cushions. Since the chairs were quite fragile, they were replaced at least three times in the life of the hotel. Later models did not include the wicker, but one of the auctioned chairs at the Cyr auction showed evidence of what is believed to be the original wicker under a hole in the upholstery.
In 1968, after the hotel came crashing down, the auctioned Frank Lloyd Wright Peacock Chairs were given to an American economist in Tokyo and sent back to the United States, where they sat in his family’s barn in central Maine for the next 40 years, astonishing mice. The family was only too
aware of the chairs’ origins when they contacted Cyr and were pleased when they sold this summer for $36,800 (including buyer’s premium) to a purchaser in Paris.
In a similar lucky turn of events on auction night at Cyr, several Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) pieces with original stamps or labels provoked a buzz as well. A furniture maker and architect, Stickley was also a leading spokesperson for the American Craftsman movement. At the auction, a Stickley settle sold for $2,530 and a Stickley bookcase for $2,300. Both came from a clever Mainer who acquired them when a local college was “cleaning house” and gave them to him in return for his carting them off. Talk about a nice haul. n
Sarah Cumming Cecil, a principal in the interior design firm Rose Cumming (www.rosecummingdesign.com), writes frequently on art, antiques, and interior design. Her work has appeared in ARTnews, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Connoisseur, and The New York Times.
Christmas at the Cathedral
December 6, 2008
12:00 noon preview 8:00 p.m. concert December 7, 2008
2:30 and 7:00 p.m. Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Portland, Maine Annual "Me iah" Sing-AlongDecember 15, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
St. Patrick's Catholic Church Portland, Maine An Epiphany Celebration January 3, 2009, 7:30 p.m.
Immanuel Baptist Church Portland, Maine
www.choralart.org (207) 828-0043
PO Box 8815, Portland, ME 04104
Christmas with Cornils
A Kotzchmar Christmas December 23rd, 2008, 7:30 pm
Merrill Auditorium Portland, Maine Ray Cornils, Municipal Organist Kotzschmar Festival Brass Musica de Filia Jaye Churchill, director Parish Ringers Advance Reserved Seats $14-$28 Student Discount Group Rate for 20 or More Limited Seating available for donation at the door at 7:00 pm concert night. 207.842.0800 www.porttix.com
the Victorian Nutcracker
December 7, 2008, 2:00 pm
“Short and Sweets” Franco American Heritage Center 46 Cedar Street, Lewiston Tickets: $11–16 Call FAHC at 207.689-2000
FIRST TIME IN NH! December 13 & 14, 2008, 2:00 pm
Kennett High School 409 Eagles Way, North Conway, NH Tickets: $15–25 1.800.838-3006 www.brownpapertickets.com
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