Ralph Reghi Important Rig of Eight Canvasback Drakes

Ralph Reghi (1910-1995) Detroit, MI, c. 1945

"Birds of a feather flock together," literally, the very concept of a decoy's functionality imparts that the carvings were made to be seen socially and used en masse. The early primary-source collectors routinely acquired entire rigs. These rigs gave acquisitors trade assets as they diversified their decoy portfolios. Over the years, the rigs were often whittled down into singles or pairs. An exception to this decoy diaspora is seen in the Donal C. O'Brien Jr. Collection. O’Brien source-collected and kept together large groupings of Nantucket shorebird decoy rigs; conversely he reconstructed his own rig of Ward ‘36 canvasbacks. This raft of Reghi canvasback drakes from the Carnaghi collection, each with an individual head pose, presents a rare opportunity for the modern day collector to acquire one of the most important hand carved decoy rigs from Michigan to ever be offered to the collecting market. Each decoy stands well on its own merits and is finished with elaborate feather carving with “gun stock” cross hatching in the balsa body, original weighted keels, and exceptionally well carved heads.

Len Carnaghi authored the Regi chapter in “Waterfowl Decoys of Michigan and the Lake St. Clair Region.” True to Reghi’s adage: "the higher the head the thinner the neck," each birds head and neck design follows Reghi's saying. Original paint with light gunning wear and a few have working touch-up to bills.

Provenance: Len Carnaghi Collection, acquired from the original owner on Harsens Island, c. 1965

Literature: Clune Walsh Jr. and Lowell Jackson, “Waterfowl Decoys of Michigan and the Lake St. Clair Region,” Detroit, MI, 1983, pl. 8, related decoy illustrated in Reghi chapter by Carnaghi.

Provenance

Len Carnaghi Collection, acquired from the original owner on Harsens Island, c. 1965