Are you a basket case?
A panel of experts and the annual auction brings weavers, collectors and specialists together for the the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum
BY SHARON LORENZO CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Since its inception in 1999, the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum has been a bustling place filled with visitors from on and off island arriving in everything from buses to bicycles. This historic house, built in 1821 at 49 Union St., houses a collection that is unique in the museum world. This summer a panel of experts will assemble in the Sherburne Commons, 21 South Shore Road on July 19, 5-7 p.m. to discuss how to purchase a good lightship basket. With veteran dealer Paul Madden, talented instructor Susan Atwood Daniels, and founding father Max Berry from the museum board, the audience will hear and see the best of the best. They are to be joined by Nancy Tower Scott, a collector with the largest assemblage of miniature baskets, who has built her collection over 25 years.

Left: Master weaver Michael Kane in his home workshop. Above: A closer look at the basket Kane is preparing for the auction; its seahorses are made of cherry wood cured in a cranberry bog for over 150 years.

Visitors to the museum often ask what are the most important things to look for in the purchase of a basket. This panel is designed to address these matters so that the general public can be apprised of the many copies which have flood- ed the market, competing with the genuine Nantucket weaving tradition.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent

Since 1843, when the U.S. Congress was petitioned to provide protection for the South Shoal, 35 miles south of the island after numerous ship wrecks on same, the first lightship boat was manned with hanging lanterns fueled with whale oil. The lonely task of living on the boat fell to veteran sailors who occupied themselves weaving baskets and carving scrimshaw to fill their days. Just as island natives had made functional baskets for gathering fruits and berries before 1659, the original lightship baskets from the 19th century were sold to tourists who used them for marketing and storage. The purse tradition began in the latter part of that century as commissions for lady visitors to the island. The panel of experts will discuss materials, methodology of weaving and production, and conservation and care of these special antiques which hold great value in the art market today.

Basket enthusiasts should also attend the annual benefit auction and brunch at the Westmoor Club on Saturday, July 28 from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., where master of ceremonies Rafael Osona will chat up the crowd who will assemble to see such treasures as a basket made of pink ivory wood from Africa, one of the rarest of specimens in the world. An oval evening basket by Michael Kane will also feature seahorses from cherry wood cured in a cranberry bog for over 150 years. Manny Dias has donated a double handled picnic basket with a mahogany top for elegant beachside dining. Veteran weaver Kathleen Myers has made a masterful contribution with an ivory-lidded purse depicting the Sankaty Head lighthouse. commemorating its move to a safer location. Tim Parsons and Dale Rutherford have given a nest of baskets from wood salvaged from the original docks of the Straight Wharf in 1723.

In the midst of your busy Nantucket summer season, don't miss both of these wonderful events which support the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum and its mission to educate and preserve our island weaving

tradition. I