Nantucket’s pleasures on show at Rafael Osona auction, April 23
Stephen Swift cherry rocking chair, est. $4,000-$5,000
NANTUCKET, Mass. – Rafael Osona Auctions kicks off its 2022 season with the annual Daffodil Weekend Auction. The 600-lot sale includes fine art, furniture, rugs and decor, folk art, South Sea pearls and American, Continental and Asian antiques. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Nantucket is a renowned source for 18th- and 19th-century American furniture treasures, but equally esteemed is the work of the island’s 20th-century craftsman, Stephen Swift, whose bench-made hardwood furniture is exceedingly difficult to find. One of his signed circa-2005 Nantucket cherry rocking chairs carries an estimate of $4,000-$5,000.
Circa-1959 Nantucket friendship basket by Jose Formoso Reyes, est. $3,000-$4,000
The April 23 auction includes a strong selection of heirloom Nantucket baskets, led by a circa-1959 Nantucket friendship basket by Jose Formoso Reyes, estimated at $3,000-$4,000. The basket also features two whales on the lid that were carved by Charlie Sayle.
Gold and solitaire diamond Nantucket pendant, est. $700-$900
Coveted jewelry by island goldsmiths includes a 14K gold and solitaire diamond Nantucket pendant, estimated at $700-$900.
Bernard Woodman sailor’s valentine, est. $3,000-$5,000
Sailor’s valentines are also on offer, chief among them a large undated example by Bernard Woodman that measures 20 by 20in and is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
Rackstraw Downes, ‘In Hungerford’s Pasture,’ est. $5,000-$7,000
A Rackstraw Downes Texas landscape, titled In Hungerford’s Pasture and estimated at $5,000-$7,000, stands out among fine art offerings, as does a work certain to draw Nantucket collectors: John Oliver Sharp’s modernist interpretation of Nantucket’s fabled Three Bricks on Main Street. The three identical 19th-century mansions were built by the island’s wealthiest shipbuilder for his three sons. The undated oil on Masonite carries an estimate of $2,000-$4,000.
John Oliver Sharp, ‘The Three Bricks in Summer,’ est. $2,000-$4,000
A total of 12 intaglio mezzotint engravings from Johann Wilhelm Weinmann’s Pytanthoza Iconographia (Regensburg 1737-1745), the plates created from watercolors by Georg Ehret, are sure to receive attention, while seascapes, working harbors, ship portraits, coastal scenes, and genre paintings that appear in the sale lineup span various periods of art history, from the 19th century through Impressionism and several 20th-century movements.
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