Early Nantucket Plover with Raised Wings

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The Winter Sale 2025, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 21, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-02-21 10:00:00 2025-02-21 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2025, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2025-day-1-17703
Lots 1-261 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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• Lot Description
  Early Nantucket Plover with Raised Wings
  Nantucket, MA, c. 1850
  10 1/2 in. long
  
  "Nantucket decoys are hard to come by and historically they are of great interest. Since they were used for relatively short periods of time each year, they were handed down from generation to generation." — William J. Mackey Jr, "American Bird Decoys"
  
  A feather-light, hollow plover with extraordinary carving and construction detail by a great, yet to be named, Nantucket craftsman. This delicate decoy has few surviving comparables, with only one exceptional curlew and a few plover by the maker known to have survived in any condition. In 2022 Copley sold a rigmate plover for a Nantucket record of $108,000. Months later Copley hammered down a rigmate curlew for a new record of $228,000. The design, execution, and refinement of this form place it in the ranks of the best shorebirds by Massachusetts makers, including A. Elmer Crowell (1862-1952), Fred Nichols (1854-1924), Charles Sumner Bunn (1865-1952), and the Phillips Rig maker. Given the apparent age of this carving and the history of golden plover hunting on Nantucket, it is likely that this 19th-century sculpture predates the aforementioned named masters by decades.
  
  Along with the great dovetailed maker, this Nantucket carver is among the greatest craftsmen ever to construct a working shorebird decoy. These two early and unnamed 19th-century makers routinely applied an elevated level of refinement to both the inside and outside of their distinct hollow decoys. This plover displays a very tight vertical body seam, which was hollowed to an egg-shell-thin hull. The underside has a small stick hole, typically seen on Nantucket decoys, particularly those from the Folger family.
  
  The wing carving alone represents an extraordinary execution. Its thin primaries are among the most delicate features seen on any decoy, ever. Flaring away from the wings is a curved and fanned tail treated on top and bottom with V-parted feathering that leads to a scalloped edge. The surface is finished with excellent adult plumage, painted feathers, and mottled blending. The surface remains in remarkably good condition.
  
  There are at least two known plover by this maker that were repainted very early on by Elmer Crowell (1862-1952). The similarities between this maker and Crowell's "dust-jacket" plover are extensive in both overall form and in the detailed carving features, especially around the wings. The combination of Crowell's early exposure and the distinct similarities presents a highly plausible case that this unknown island maker was a direct inspiration for the East Harwich master and his "dust-jacket" decoys.
  Original paint with light gunning wear and touch-up at base of reset wing tip.
  
  Provenance: Private Collection, Florida
  
  Literature: Copley Fine Art Auctions, "The Winter Sale 2022," March 4-5, 2022, lots 149 and 164, two related plover illustrated, one with early Crowell paint. Copley Fine Art Auctions, "The Sporting Sale 2022," July 2022, lots 18, rigmate curlew illustrated. William J. Mackey Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, p. 76, Nantucket decoys discussed.

  Condition

  Please refer to the description; if you have questions, email colin@copleyart.com.
• Shipping Info

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• Buyer's Premium

  • Hammer Price	Premium (%)
    $0	23.00
    $1,000,000	18.00