lifestyle

Antiques & Fine Art 117

The walls of the entrance hall are painted a richnavy blue to showcase a colorful collection ofsailor’s “woolies” with nautical themes. Hangingover the Federal mahogany server with a singledrop-leaf, attributed to Jacob Forster, Charles-town, Massachusetts, is an early nineteenth-century American watercolor of a whaling scenedepicting the whaler Rose, where one of theBurdett teeth was carved. A pair of eighteenth-century Chinese export Nanking river scene vasesrests on the table. Several nests of Nantucketbaskets line the stairway.

ASailor's

Life for MeMaritime artifacts & antiques in a Nantucket home.

by Betsy Tylerphotography by J. David Bohl

After spending manyhot summers in Bermuda with her family, ourcollector mentioned to her husband that shehad heard Nantucket Island was cool in thesummer and a great place for a favorite pas-time of hers, gardening. They decided tospend the next summer on the “Grey Lady,”so-called because of the often foggy conditionsof this island off the Massachusetts coast. It was love at first sight. Their older son, amaritime history aficionado at an early age,discovered the Nantucket HistoricalAssociation’s Whaling Museum and thefamily’s collection of maritime antiques grewfrom his enthusiasm for the history of theisland that was once a center of the interna-tional whaling industry.

118 www.antiquesandfineart.com

THIS PAGE, TOP:Situated along the coastline, the house offers views ofthe nearby ocean and sand dunes. A pool providesthe opportunity for freshwater swimming.

THIS PAGE, BOTTOM:A pathway leads down to the beach for a quick dip inthe ocean or for long walks along the sand.

August / September

Two centuries ago, Nantucket whalemenbrought home treasures from around theglobe, and created some of their own in theform of scrimshaw, ditty boxes, and log booksthat recorded long voyages chasing whalesfrom the South Pacific to the KamchatkaPeninsula and beyond. For a collector of mar-itime folk art and antiques, Nantucket is theperfect setting.

A late-nineteenth-century house over-looking the ocean became the new vacationretreat that the family relishes even inJanuary and February when the winds howland the tempestuous ocean reminds one ofthe perils of a seafaring life. A Nantucketarchitect and trusted interior decorator trans-formed the interior of the house for familyliving and to showcase the growing collec-tion of folk art and antiques—most notablyNantucket lightship baskets, scrimshaw,shell-inlay tea caddies, “woolies,” and blueand white Chinese export porcelain, alongwith premier examples of Nantucket andNew England furniture.

After the couple bought their vacationhome in 2000, the wife began to look appre-ciatively at the handicrafts and decorative artsof the island. Her first Nantucket purchasewas a lightship basket purse made by JoséFormoso Reyes. The term “lightship basket”refers to the origin of the craft onboard sta-tionary beacon ships anchored on shoalsaround Nantucket. Examples dating from asearly as 1855 were made during the months-long stay of crew members who filled some ofthe tedious hours making the utilitarian bas-kets used on ship and on shore for a variety ofdomestic purposes.

After the last lightship was removed fromservice the craft was continued in workshopson the island. Nests of baskets are extremelyrare. Our collector has several antique nestsmade on lightships, as well as nests made by

lifestyle

2006 Antiques & Fine Art 119

THIS PAGE:The inviting sitting area in blue and white is highlighted by several nests of Nantucket lightship baskets. The set of five round baskets,circa 1872–1905, on top of the diminutiveMassachusetts drop-leaf table, circa 1760, areattributed to either Captain Thomas James orAndrew Sandsbury. The inlaid box is a raresailor-made jewelry box constructed aboardthe whaleship Spumo, which sailed fromNantucket on March 24, 1833.

contemporary basket-makers Harry Hilbert,Kathleen Meyers, and Fred Ely.

In 1948, Philippine native turnedNantucket resident José Formoso Reyes,introduced the lightship basket purse with ahandle and a lid topped with an ivory orebony figure, usually a whale, a gull, or anoutline of the island. Contemporary honey-toned purses and older mahogany-patina

examples by a variety of makers can bespotted on the arms of Nantucket-loversworldwide. An often-told story is that ayoung man from Nantucket spotted a womancarrying a lightship basket at the airport inParis (or Rome, or Istanbul, or Samoa,depending on who’s telling the story) andstruck up a conversation, remarking that shemust be from Nantucket, to which she

August / September120 www.antiquesandfineart.com

THIS PAGE, TOP:The blue and white color scheme isstriking in this view of the living room;especially on the fireplace wall wheredelft tiles surround the fireplace open-ing and a rare underglaze blue Kang Hsifaceted five-part garniture set gracesthe mantle. The whalebone basket withan inlaid heart in the bottom is fromJohn Sylvia Antiques, and the nine-teenth-century wooden whale weather-vane is from Wayne Pratt Antiques.

THIS PAGE, BOTTOM:Accompanying an elegant Queen Annetea table retaining its original paint history is a rare and importantNantucket fan-back brace-back Windsorarmchair. One of only forty known,according to Windsor authority, NancyGoyne Evans, it is illustrated in CharlesSantore, The Windsor Style in America,vol. II (Running Press Books, 1992).These pieces, as with most otherantiques in the house, are from WaynePratt Antiques.

THIS PAGE, TOP:The large horn was purchased in theCotswolds, England, and was probablyscrimmed by a Scottish sailor because of thethistle carved on it. It sits on top of the log-book of the maiden voyage of the Nantucketwhale ship Planter, dated September 25,1818–September 14, 1820, and authored byGeorge B. Chase, the master on the Planter.The logbook is surrounded by shell inlaidEnglish tea boxes of various sizes andshapes, most are from Lynda WillauerAntiques, Nantucket. The cupboard behindis filled with underglaze blue Chinese exportporcelain, also from Willauer Antiques.

THIS PAGE, BOTTOM:Three rare and masterfully carvedscrimshaw whale teeth by Edward Burdett(1805–1833). The center tooth is the earliest dated example of an Americanscrimshaw tooth found at present.

The rare, diminutive Chippendale cherrywood secretary is from New London County, Connecticut, circa 1775–1790.It is filled with pieces of underglaze blue Chinese export porcelain, including two rare teapots. On the desk is a finepiece of Steuben glass engraved with a whaling scene. The English Regency chair is hand painted.

lifestyle

August / September124 www.antiquesandfineart.com

PREVIOUS PAGE AND THIS PAGE, ABOVE:The block-front chest of drawers (circa 1760–1780) isa hallmark of Boston, Massachusetts, craftsmanshipin the late eighteenth century. The collection ofChinese export porcelain continues the blue andwhite decorating scheme into the dining room.

THIS PAGE, INSET

A wonderful collection of Nantucket lightship basketpurses of various sizes, shapes, and decoration, allsigned by José Formoso Reyes (1902–1980). Theearliest purses generally have a carved ivory whaleon wood or ebony plaque on the lid. The rarest oneshown is a coffin-shaped basket with an ivory dancecard booklet mounted on a corresponding whaleboneplaque on the lid. All are from Wayne Pratt Antiques,Nantucket, and John Sylvia Antiques, Nantucket. Theseascape above is by Nantucket artist John Osbornefrom The Gallery at 4 India, Nantucket.

lifestyle

2006 Antiques & Fine Art 125

replied, “No, my dear, I’m from ‘Sconset,”referring to the exclusive village at the eastend of the island.

Signed Reyes lightship basket purses arethe most collectible of the many variationsmade since. Remembering the advice hergrandmother, a master weaver, gave her, to“use your good things,” the collector doesthat, keeping a number of fine examples on atable by the door, so she can choose herfavorite of the day.

Their son’s passion for all things sailor-related led to an interest in scrimshaw: carvedor etched pieces of whale ivory. Sperm whaleteeth are the most common canvas foretching, while utilitarian carved ivory piecesinclude clothespins and pastry wheels. Ourcollector bought her first piece of scrimshawin her son’s name so that he could loan it tomuseums some day in the future. The toothshe purchased was scrimmed by Nantucketmariner Edward Burdett.

The Burdett tooth, the earliest datedAmerican scrimshaw tooth yet discovered,came to the collector by way of Tucson,Arizona, an unlikely location for an importantmaritime artifact. It turned up at the AntiquesRoadshow in that city in 2002, where guestappraiser Wayne Pratt — a nationally recog-nized antiques purveyor with a shop onNantucket — immediately recognized thefind. Owned by a descendant of the master ofthe Origon, John Bunker, the tooth had beenpresented to Bunker by crew member EdwardBurdett on September 27, 1827, the datecarved on one side of the tooth under thedepiction of a “cutting-in” (stripping theblubber from the whale carcass) scene on theport side of the ship. The other side of thetooth shows the starboard side of the Origon,with two whale boats in pursuit of spermwhales, harpooners poised to strike.

The Tucson owner of the tooth, who hadplayed with it as a child, had no idea of itsimportance or value and was shocked to learnthat the tooth might see a market price of$75,000 to $125,000. Realizing that this raremaritime artifact should be on Nantucketwhere both the Origon captain and thescrimshander had lived, the owner asked Pratt

The mid-eighteenth century Connecticut River Valley architectural corner cupboard from Wayne Pratt Antiqueswas de-accessioned from a New York City museum and is filled with underglaze blue Chinese export porcelainwith floral and butterfly decoration made for the Swedish market.

“I respond to what speaks to me.There is something magical

about wonderful design.”

August / September126 www.antiquesandfineart.com

to help her find a collector who would share thetooth with the public. Pratt turned to our collector, who now owns two other Burdettteeth as well. All three teeth were loaned to theNantucket Historical Association for the grandopening of their new whaling museum in 2005.

The collector also has a passion for blueand white Chinese export porcelain; she

began collecting the dime-store variety of blueand white as a young girl. The design conceptfor her Nantucket home, developed with herdecorator, was to mass the porcelain on book-shelves and choose fabrics for upholstery anddraperies of similar color and pattern. Most ofher collection of Chinese export porcelain wasacquired from Lynda Willauer Antiques of

Nantucket, where Lynda’s daughter Emily is a“walking encyclopedia,” according to the col-lector. Each piece was chosen for its design,which is mostly floral, although the collectoralso owns some river scenes.

Maritime paintings and “woolies”— Britishsailor-made nineteenth-century wool-stitchedship pictures on canvas—add to the seafaringtheme of the house. At the Nantucket HistoricalAssociation’s annual antiques show a few yearsago, the collector walked into Diana Bittel’sbooth, which featured a multitude of woolies,and, according to Bittel, who had come fromBryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, for the show, “sheimmediately focused on the best example, whichis rare because of its numerous sailors in the rig-ging of the ship.” That ability to hone in on thefinest has become recognized as the collector’ssignature. She first met Wayne Pratt andMarybeth Keene when she wandered into theirshop on Main Street. Now a frequent customerof theirs—most of the antique furniture in theirhouse is from the firm—she is known for herability “to gravitate to the best item on display,instinctively understanding style, line, andform,” according to Ms. Keene. The collectorsums it up best: “I respond to what speaks tome. There is something magical about won-derful design.”

THIS PAGE, TOP

The six foot blue and white oval platter is one of only three specially made for the 1878 Paris Expositionand was found by the collector while on a vacation in France.

THIS PAGE, BELOW:From Wayne Pratt Antiques, the unique tray-topQueen Anne server from Rhode Island, dating to1740–1760, retains its original red painted surface.The contemporary whalebone ditty boxes made byMark Sutherland are from John Sylvia Antiques,Nantucket. The painting above is by Nantucket contemporary artist Peter Quidley.