Ely Jacques Kahn

Mrs. Alfred L. Rose, New York, 1929
Gallery Fifty/50, New York
Collection of Diane Wolf, New York

At Home in Manhattan, 1925 to the Depression, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, Nov. 10, 1983-Feb. 5, 1984

Very good overall condition. The Formica top with scattered surface scratches and marks as expected and with a 7 x 5 inch section of haziness to the center that would benefit from a polish. The surface finish is dry but stable. Some surface scratches to the foot with some chipping to the corners as expected that would benefit from a light restoration. The stem has some roughness to one corner which is the result of rubbing. One fine minor shrinkage separation to the stem as well which is inherent in the making and not overtly apparent due to the scale of the overhanging top.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Ely Jacques Kahn was born in New York City on June 1, 1884.  His father, Jacques Kahn, was a luxury goods importer focusing on European design and his sister was the famed avant-garde gallerist Rena Rosenthal.  Kahn graduated from the architectural program at Columbia University in 1907 and earned a degree from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris in 1911.  As a practicing architect he became one of the most prolific in America, credited with the completion of thirty projects in New York City between 1925 and 1931.   A hallmark of his designs is the architectural setback necessitated by New York's 1916 zoning resolution, which limited the percentage of the mass of a structure relative to the size of the lot on which it is erected.  The result of this measure are the distinctive Art Deco terraced towers of which Kahn was so measurably adept at creating.  So iconic were his structures that Ayn Rand worked at Kahn's firm as research for her ground breaking novel The Fountainhead.  His popularity as an architect won him numerous interior design commissions, and he was praised for his clean, elegant and ultimately functional living spaces. 

The present lot is exceedingly rare in that little of Kahn's commissioned furniture is known to survive.  This elegant table can be seen as a microcosm of his architectural concepts, eschewing frivolous decoration for the sake of a pure fluted tower rising from a gracefully sloping architectural setback, cut by the cantilevered terrace of the lustrous Formica top.