The Noguchi table is a piece of

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

furniture first produced in the mid-20th century. Introduced by Herman Miller in 1947, it was designed in the United States by Japanese American artist and industrial designer

Isamu Noguchi was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and severa ...

. The Noguchi table comprises a wooden base composed of two identical curved wood pieces, and a heavy plate glass top.

History

The Noguchi table was an evolution of a

rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated ...

and glass table Noguchi designed in 1939 for A. Conger Goodyear, president of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

. The design team at Herman Miller was so impressed by the table's use of

biomorphism Biomorphism models artistic design elements on naturally occurring patterns or shapes reminiscent of nature and living organisms. Taken to its extreme it attempts to force naturally occurring shapes onto functional devices. History Within the c ...

that they recruited Noguchi to design a similar table with a freeform sculptural base and biomorphic glass top for use in both residential and office environments. The 1947 Herman Miller catalog described the Noguchi coffee table as "sculpture-for-use" and "design for production". The base was carved from solid walnut, and consisted of two identical parts; when one part "is reversed and connected to the other by a pivot rod, a base appears which has a smoothly flowing form and an interest rarely found in furniture of any period". The shape of the two wooden supports produces a self-supporting and stable base, allowing the heavy plate glass top to be placed without the use of connectors.

Construction

The base was originally produced in

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' cont ...

, and

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The n ...

. It was later offered in ebonized walnut. Cherry bases were made only during the first year the table was on the market, and have been highly sought since. Birch bases were discontinued after 1954. As of 2016, the table is available in an ebonized finish, walnut, white ash and natural cherry. The top was originally issued in heavy plate glass. In 1965, the thickness of the top was reduced to , and its base height was raised, increasing the table's total height from to . Since the late 1980s, indexing pins have been installed on the pivot rod with matching slots milled into the legs to ensure that the two leg elements are set up at a 52-degree angle for maximum aesthetic appeal and optimal stability.Noguchi_Table_Assembly_Instructions.pdf
/ref>

Production

The Noguchi table became one of Herman Miller's most iconic and successful designs. Production ceased in 1973, and the piece became an instant collectible. Herman Miller reissued it in 1980 in a limited edition of about 480 tables. The table was reintroduced again in 1984 for the "Herman Miller Classics" line, and has been in production ever since.

Examples

Despite their status as modern classics, Noguchi tables are widely available and relatively affordable. This is at least partly because they were in constant production from 1947 until 1973, returned to production in 1984, and have been produced ever since. In addition, the table is very durable, and few have been lost over the years. The base can be dinged and scratched, but almost never cracks or breaks. The glass tops are prone to chipping along the edges and scratching on the upper surface, but are so large and heavy they rarely break. The table can support a great weight without damage. Earlier tables are easily distinguished by their ⅞-inch thick tops, but do not command much premium over the current lighter and easier-to-handle ¾″ models. Buyers can expect to pay $500 and up for an undamaged example, and $1,500 and up for an early version in birch . Only the 1947 cherry tables are truly rare collectibles, which rarely show up for sale except at high-end auctions. * Two Noguchi tables, one in natural birch and one in ebonized birch, are in the collection of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. * A Noguchi table in ebonized birch is on display at

The Henry Ford Museum The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contains ...

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States per ...

References

External links

The Herman Miller Consortium Collection
at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

Library is a historic, digital, product collection originally accumulated as part of Herman Miller's corporate archives in a digitized, searchable format and includes images of Noguchi tables on display at various art museums. {{Herman Miller 1947 introductions Tables (furniture) History of furniture Modernist works Individual models of furniture