Sideboard, c. 1970. Mahogany with brass handles.
Lot 9

Nairobi workshop (1950s–1970s)

Sideboard, c. 1970

Mahogany with brass handles

80 × 200 × 48 cm

Estimate KES 300,000–450,000

Bidding

Bidding opens

Today at 20:30

Opening bid KES 150,000. This lot closes today at 21:16, unless a late bid extends it.

How bidding works

About the work

A long, low sideboard in mahogany on a recessed plinth, with four sliding doors and slim brass handles set into the edges. Made for the offices of a coffee company in the Industrial Area.

Condition

Good. Refinished. Minor marks to the top.

Provenance

Offices in Nairobi's Industrial Area; private collection, Nairobi.

The artist

In the years either side of independence, a handful of joinery workshops in Nairobi's Industrial Area made modern furniture in teak, mahogany and cane for new houses, offices and hotels. Few pieces were marked, and makers are rarely known, but the best of them are made as carefully as anything of their time.

More by Nairobi workshop