Rig of Seven Golden Plover Decoys, Coffin Family

Lot 365

About Seller

65 Sharp Street
Hingham, MA 02043
United States

Copley Fine Art Auctions is the world's leading American sporting art auction company. Located in Hingham, MA, Copley specializes in antique decoys and 19th- and 20th-century American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Principal Stephen O'Brien Jr., a fourth-generation sportsman with a refined colle...Read more

Bid Increments

Price	Bid Increment
$0	$50
$1,000	$100
$2,500	$250
$5,000	$500
$10,000	$1,000
$25,000	$2,500
$50,000	$5,000

About Auction

The Winter Sale 2023, Day 2 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Winter Sale 2023, Day 2

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 25, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-02-25 10:00:00 2023-02-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2023, Day 2 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2023-day-2-11942 Lots 338-657 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Rig of Seven Golden Plover
Coffin Family
Nantucket, MA, c. 1870
9 1/4 in. long

"Birds of a feather flock together." An important aspect of a decoy's functionality is that they were made to be seen socially and used en masse. The early primary-source collectors acquired entire rigs from the context of utility and placed them on their shelves in their newly defined context as art. These rigs gave acquisitors trade material as they diversified their portfolios. Over the years, the rigs were often whittled down into singles or pairs. An exception to this decoy diaspora is seen in the Paul Tudor Jones II, Thomas K. Figge, and Donal C. O'Brien Jr. Collections, which notably hold rigs together. While some rigs continue to be broken up, a growing number of astute collectors are reassembling historic rigs and groupings.

This lot represents a unique opportunity in the modern era to obtain a Nantucket rig of this size. It consists of several variations of the maker's golden plover. All have a variation of the Coffin-type body and green stippling on the backs and sides, white headbands, and mortise-and-tenon bills. Two have hollow bodies with thin bottom boards in breeding plumage. Two have solid bodies with dark adult plumage. The final three are in juvenile "pale belly" plumage with two-piece head construction; two of these had been painted in breeding plumage with the solid white bellies added over the white dots. This is logical as the old and young birds would typically arrive on Nantucket in entirely separate flights.

Included are seven vintage Nantucket gunning sticks for use in the meadows and one homemade shell box.
Original paint with gunning wear. One solid adult has an original imperfection above the tail, the other solid adult has a reset neck and half of bill replaced. A solid-white-bellied bird has wear to top of head and flaking around knot in breast. One of the hollow birds has a replaced bottom board.

Provenance: Stephen B. O'Brien Sr. Collection

Condition

Please email condition report requests to colin@copleyart.com. Any condition statement given is a courtesy to customers, Copley will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition.
Shipping Info
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