Vintage Farnum Nantucket Basket - A True Replica of the Original Lightship Basket, Signed and Dated 1980

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Much has been written about traditional Lightship basket, made of rattan/wicker woven basket decorated with endangered materials with artistic hand-etched … Read more Much has been written about traditional Lightship basket, made of rattan/wicker woven basket decorated with endangered materials with artistic hand-etched scenes of nature, an art form that is treasured as scrimshaw. These baskets with handles and covers are known as Nantucket baskets,

In the 1970's, Albert Farnum Cleaveland and his sons started a factory in Florida and made true replicas of the Nantucket baskets. On account of the modern environmental and endangered species concerns, and the difficulty of finding scrimshaw artists, the Farnum baskets used ivoryite, a synthetic substances that was specially formulated to recreate the look and feel of genuine ivory.

This is a fine example of one of Farnum's Handbag that is a true authentic replica of the original Lightship basket. It is made of small strips of cane woven over rattan staves, with a wooden base and handle and leather strips as hinges. On the cover is a wooden plaque display a black ink etching of two pheasants over an ivoryite. The interior is plain and on the wooden base is carved in the name "Farnum" and and abbreviated date of 1980 as " '80 ". See less