PDF - Manu Antiques

Indulge
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SpaceS
ART
HOUSE
The Blackburns’ Black Point residence houses a wealth
of museum-worthy pieces.
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by MALIA MATTOCH MCMANUS photography by OLIVIER KONING
hiLuxury OctOber/NOvember 2014
F
OR SOME, A COLLECTION IS
A PASSION DISPLAYED ON
A SINGLE WALL, A WELLLOVED DETAIL OF THEIR
HOME. BUT WALK INTO THE
Black Point house of Mark and Carolyn
Blackburn, and it is instantly clear that
their collection is their home. More than
a thousand stunning Polynesian artifacts
line its walls. Carvings, bowls, weapons,
jewelry, books, artifacts and photographs
transform the feeling of the space into
that of a wonderfully lived-in museum.
Each piece would individually be
the star of any collection: a bowl used
by King Kamehameha I, Robert Louis
Stevenson’s steamer trunk, a cup used
by Captain Bligh to measure rations on
CLoCKWise FRoM LeFt: A collection
of spears from various Polynesian
Islands and a Theodore Wores painting
at the end of hall; a 1960s optical mirror
with original works of art on paper by
Theo Schoon and Pierre Loti; a George
Nakashima desk with “Mira” chair. The
Tahiti paintings and drawings are from
artists Paul Gauguin and Peter Heymann.
opposite pAge: Blackburn in his home
office surrounded by various pieces
including a Hawaiian kapa cloth that
originally belonged to Queen Emma.
Indulge
.
Spaces
Above: George Nakashima
sofas with a pair of original
1956 “Coconut Chairs” by
George Nelson joins a “Kauai
Fisherman” painting by Robert
Lee Eskridge circa 1930s.
Polynesian artifacts from
Easter Island and New Zealand
mix with a stool by California
sculptor J.B. Blunk. Opposite
page: George Nakashima
dining room table and chairs
circa 1950s and 1960s set
against “Hawaiian Drummer”
painting by Jean Charlot
(1969) and Madge Tennent’s
“Woman in Van Gogh Yellow”
circa 1930s. The Tennent was
formerly in the collection of
Jean Charlot.
the famous open boat voyage after the
mutiny on the Bounty. Along the walls
are paintings by some of Hawai‘i’s most
famous artists, including Madge Tennent,
Cornelia Foley and Robert Lee Eskridge.
It’s a collection so stunning it’s been
documented in a lush hardcover book
called Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn
Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art,
by Adrienne Kaeppler. Mark began collecting coins as a child. By his teens he
was dealing in rare coins, and by age 19
those coins had made him a millionaire.
A book about the journeys of Captain
Cook inspired him to retrace Cook’s voyages through Polynesia: New Zealand,
100
“Some works of art are meant to be
viewed from certain angles, ELEVATIONS,
and of course, climatic conditions are
always a challenge, especially sunlight.”
hiLuxury October/November 2014
Tahiti, Fiji, Hawai‘i. His first Polynesian
find was a Maori artifact in Hamburg.
Forty years later, he’s still collecting.
“It’s the largest private collection of
Polynesian art in the world,” explains
Mark, who with Carolyn owns Mauna
Kea Gallery on South King Street. “Our
collection is the focus of our life.”
Their collection also motivated
their move to Black Point from Waimea
on Hawai‘i Island. Mark’s travel for
the gallery and collection made the
extra inter-island commute difficult.
“Collecting requires travel,” notes Mark.
“Today, I’m in New Mexico for an 18thcentury decorated Ni‘ihau gourd.”
They wanted a location on O‘ahu,
which echoed the peace of the Big Island
and found it in this four-bedroom, threebathroom home constructed in the 1980s.
“Since we love mid-century architecture, we would have preferred a great
mid-century designed home like the one
we had on the Big Island,” says Mark, but
they’d already fallen in love with the area.
Indulge
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A 1920s painting by Tahitian artist Octave Morillot surrounded by Polynesian shark hooks, stools, headrests, model canoe and
bowl from Tahiti, Hawai‘i, the Cook and Austral Islands and New Zealand.
“When you go out to the point, it’s
like living on the Big Island, the wildness of it. Black Point has some of the
most incredible air on the planet. It’s
like nothing else on O‘ahu,” Mark opines.
He also noted that the house needed a
new electrical system and wall treatments, as well as extensive shelving and
cabinetry to house their collection.
“We were enamored with the view,
the clean lines and atmospherics for
displaying the art. We live with it. We
have an emotional attachment to it
and live every day with our art.”
Many of the Polynesian objects are
stored in specially constructed pull-out
drawers, but even with all of their additions,
it’s still a challenge to do justice to a
collection of this size. Many pieces are not
on display due to limited wall space for
paintings and flat works of art, so they store
“when you go out to the point, it’S like
living on the big iSland, the wildneSS of
it. black point haS Some of the moSt
incredible air on the planet…”
“My Bottom Line is Top Dollar for My Sellers!”
a tremendous amount of the collection and
change works out from time to time.
“Some works of art are meant to be
viewed from certain angles, elevations and
of course, climatic conditions are always a
challenge, especially sunlight,” reveals
Mark. “The entire home is air conditioned
24 hours a day, due to Hawai‘i’s challenging environment.”
The Blackburns built their collection’s
cabinetry in black walnut for how it
worked with their modernist furniture.
“We are collectors of mid-century
furniture—especially George Nakashima
and George Nelson. The Nakashima
furniture in our opinion goes hand in hand
with great art, especially tribal art.”
Mark describes his favorite time of day
in the house, and collection, as morning.
“With the light in the space and the
water view playing against the objects and
period furniture—it’s quite spectacular.”
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102
Source: Based on information from the Multiple Listing Service of HiCentral MLS, Ltd. for the period July 1, 2013
through June 30, 2014. Figures include Oahu SFH/Condos/Vacant Land. Excluding project sales.
hiLuxury OctOber/NOvember 2014
$3.5M
Kahala Mall Roof Top, 4211 Waialae Ave, Suite 9000 • Honolulu, HI 96816 . ©2014 Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act
and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker® and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Real estate agents affiliated with
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage or NRT LLC.
$1.35M