Early Dual Purpose Cane

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Masterpiece Cane Auction

By Kimball Sterling

May 24, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-05-24 11:00:00 2025-05-24 11:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Masterpiece Cane Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/kimball-sterling/masterpiece-cane-auction-19479
A European Masterpiece Cane Auction Kimball Sterling kimballsterling@earthlink.net

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• Lot Description
  Ca. 1850 Turned coquilla nut knob with intricate floral engraving and a ram's head on top. It is threaded and detaches to reveal a deep hollow that may have held a variety of useful or harmful substances, with snuff tobacco being the most likely. Correctly, it separates on two levels, the first on the bigger body for filling and the second on the narrower bottom for better output dosage. In addition, it may possibly have had ties to medicine, as such knobs are known to have been worn by doctors to protect them from infection in times of pestilence, or it may have just been a useful item to mask unpleasant odors. The knob comes with its initial smooth laurel shaft and a metal ferrule. Small in scale yet teeming with life, this delicate heritage was built in accordance with the sober aesthetics of the time and has the crossover attraction of being associated with other collecting niches to increase its value. It appears to have been carefully used over a longer time and developed the rightful aged surface and warm tones to the patina. H. 3 ¼” x 1 ½”, O.L. 35 ¼” $400 - $600 Few people anticipated the significance of tobacco in daily life in the centuries that would follow when Christopher Columbus first introduced it to Europe. Fashions come and go, but tobacco is one of the very few of these that has remained, even if today “all goes up in smoke”. Tobacco has been used in different forms, and consequently, over the years, there have been an impressive variety of tobacco boxes, tobacco containers, and canes with ties to tobacco. The coquille nut is the fruit of a South American palm (Attalea funifera), closely related to the coconut palm. It is generally 3 to 4 inches long, very hard, of a richly streaked brown, and capable of taking a fine polish. It was often used for small carvings; its close, hard grain and dense structure, similar to that of ivory, gave it the name Vegetarian Ivory. Umbrella and cane handles, candlesticks, and dice cups were also manufactured from coquilla nuts. In the instance of jewelry, the carved result was paired with ivory.
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