Name: Jose Formoso Reyes "Cocktail Purse" Nantucket Basket, circa 1950
Brand: Jose Formoso Reyes
Rating: 5 (21 reviews)

Jose Formoso Reyes "Cocktail Purse" Nantucket Basket, circa 1950

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About the Item

Jose Formoso Reyes "Cocktail Purse" Nantucket Basket, circa 1950, a diminutive free-woven basket (without using a mold), with hexagonal creel-shaped pine bottom and top plates, cane staves and weaves in a slight, graceful bombe (swelled belly) shape, carved wooden swing handle, whittled wooden latch peg, and carved ebony sperm whale by Charlie Sayles, signed on the bottom "Made In Nantucket, Jose Formoso Reyes" with an inscribed outline of Nantucket Island. The basket was very well used and loved, and has developed a deep rich patina over the past 70 years. It remains in very good, strong condition, with replaced hinges and latch loop (expected if used after ten years or so), and some minimal replaced weave and rim wrap. Reyes baskets are of course the most sought after of all the Nantucket purses (he invented the form in the late 1940s). His very early baskets, free woven without a mold, are extremely rare and exceptionaly prized: this one has the great creel shape as well as the fantastic slight swell to the belly. The diminutive "cocktail" size is scarce and the most sought after today, The well used color makes the basket immediately recognizable as a classic early Reyes. All together, the various factors make this an exceptional Reyes and a choice opportunity. The ebony whale is a further prize, carved by Charlie Sayles, a Nantucket fisherman and folk artist who came up with the idea and carved the very first objects to adorn the lids of Nantucket Baskets... ebony whales! The fact that there is no whale ivory at all on this very early basket provides a rare opportunity to purchase a Nantucket purse that can be exported with ease. Measures: 5 7/8 in H x 7 in L x 5 1/4 in W.

Creator:
Jose Formoso Reyes (Maker)
Dimensions:
Height: 5.88 in (14.94 cm)Width: 7 in (17.78 cm)Depth: 5.25 in (13.34 cm)
Style:
Folk Art (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Cane,Ebony,Carved,Woven
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
1950-1959
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1950
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Nantucket, MA
Reference Number:
Seller: AD-NP-LYYY1stDibs: LU903913000232

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