Vintage Nantucket Purse by Jose Formoso Reyes, 1965

Vintage Nantucket Purse by Jose Formoso Reyes, 1965, a diminutive Nantucket oval woven purse with a cane weave on rattan staves, ebony top, maple bottom and carved swing handle,  with scrimshaw carved whale tooth flying gull, front clasp and peg, and handle knobs by Nancy Chase; signed and dated on the bottom Made In Nantucket, Jose Formoso Reyes, 1965, with image of island.

This is a nice diminutive size by Reyes, smaller than average but not quite a “cocktail” size, with an extremely unusual carved bone clasp and peg, a key characteristic of Stephan Gibbs’ baskets which Reyes adopted here.

The basket remains in excellent condition, with a perfect light honey patina. A striking Reyes purse in barely used condition.

Jose Reyes (1902 – 1980) was born in the Philippines and moved to Nantucket immediately following World War II in 1947. He met Mitchy Ray, the last person on island still making Nantucket baskets at that time, and learned the craft. Within a few years Jose adapted the traditional Lightship basket form to a purse by adding a lid and a swing handle, launching the modern era in the Nantucket basket saga. While Reyes began making his purses in the very late 1940s, he did not begin dating them until 1960. Reyes remains highly revered and collected as a great innovator and the inventor of the Nantucket Purse.

Measures: 6-3/8 in H x 8 in L x 6-1/8 in W