Rare Tapestries at Antiques Show
The Nantucket Fireman’s Association is once again hosting an antiques show and sale. The three-day show will start this Thursday evening, July 24 with an annual preview party from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Those attending will enjoy hors d’oeuvres, good company, and an opportunity to get the first look at many wonderful antiques. Preview party tickets are $50; for reservations, call 757-220-0400.
The regular show and sale hours are Friday and Saturday, July 25 and 26 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday, July 27 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admission to the show is $10. The show and sale will be held in the Nantucket High School, 10 Surfside Road.
This year’s show will host more than 25 dealers from all over the Northeast and Europe. Antiques from three centuries will be on display for sale, from 18th, 19th, and 20th century, including furniture, paintings, prints, lighting, jewelry, oriental rugs, and more. Dealers will be available all three days to answer questions and explain the rich history of their items.
This year, a highlight of the show is an exhibit of one of the largest private collections of rare tapestries in the United States. The collection includes early 17th- and 18th-century tapestries from Brussels and France. The tapestries will all be on exhibit throughout the show.
New for this summer, each day of the show will start off at 9 a.m. with an interesting talk by an expert on various aspects of collecting antiques. The 45-minute talk will be included in the show admission. On Friday, July 25, the talk will be given by Nula Thanhauser on owning and collecting antique and vintage purses. Her passion started years ago on a shopping trip to Europe. Nearly 20 years later, she made the decision to become a professional dealer in antique, vintage and classic signature purses. Her presentation on Friday morning will cover the particular characteristics of stylish purses from the Victorian era through Art Nouveau, Art Deco, into the forties, and so on. If attendees at the show wish to bring their purses to share for the group's enjoyment, Thanhauser will show and discuss them.
Saturday’s talk is entitled “Collecting Marine Antiques, the Art of the Mariner” by David Weston, who has collected and dealt in scientific and marine antiques for more than 40 years. His specialty is in navigational instruments and sailor woolworks. He exhibits his finds at major antiques shows and exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe.
The final talk in the series is “A Brief Summary of Antique Oriental Rugs Available Today.” Second generation oriental rug dealer Frank Shaia will give this talk; he has been in business in Williamsburg, VA since 1973. While his talk overviews rugs woven from before Christ right up until today, his main focus is on oriental rugs woven between 1880 and 1920. These are the rugs that are commonly known as antique oriental rugs. He will share knowledge on how they were made, where they were made, and how to date a rug.
The Nantucket Fire Department’s response area is 45 square miles, encompassing the Island, County, and Town of Nantucket. The Department has 21 full time personnel and 20 call personnel responsible for the Island's Fire and EMS service. The department is solely responsible for the island’s Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Service. They respond to over 3,000 calls per year. All contributions and funds raised from the event will be used to help the NFD better serve the community.
