Single Piece Snake Wood 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. 1900 Single piece snake wood cane with an integral and beautifully curving crook handle and a horn ferrule. The sculptural profile is emphasized by the natural reddish-brown color with contrasting darker brown, almost black patches creating the characteristic snakeskin pattern of this rarest and most valuable of all timbers. Notable is that the simple appearance of this cane belies its excessively sophisticated manufacturing, which has long fascinated scholarly collectors. Incredibly rare and absolutely magnificent, it survived in mint and original condition and with an addictive smooth surface and is a celebration of individual craftsmanship and design. Creating single-piece hardwood canes with crooked handles is considered one of the most challenging tasks for cane makers. Only a select few succeeded in achieving this feat, primarily focusing their efforts in Paris and Vienna, the cities with the highest recorded concentration of cane manufacturers. Obviously, the significant challenges were obtaining the required flowless material in a nearly 45" length and mastering the art of bending the steel-like, tough timber without causing damage to its smooth fiber structure. The blank should have its rings aligned at an angle with the board, which can complicate matters beyond comprehension. This assumes that the blank must be cut from a straight-grown and quarter-sawn stem, and you'll be fortunate to get away with 90% cuts. Best of luck! H. 4 ½” wide, O.L. 34 ¾” $400-$600 Creating single-piece hardwood canes with crooked handles is considered one of the most challenging tasks for cane makers. Only a select few succeeded in achieving this feat, primarily focusing their efforts in Paris and Vienna, the cities with the highest recorded concentration of cane manufacturers. Obviously, the significant challenges were obtaining the required flowless material in a nearly 45" length and mastering the art of bending the steel-like, tough timber without causing damage to its smooth fiber structure. The blank should have its rings aligned at an angle with the board, which can complicate matters beyond comprehension. This assumes that the blank must be cut from a straight-grown and quarter-sawn stem, and you'll be fortunate to get away with 90% cuts. Best of luck! Canes were a flourishing business in the 19th century, employing thousands of people in all kinds of jobs. According to official French communal records from around 1850, there were approximately 250 registered firms that worked with canes in Paris alone. The key to getting the right materials and professionals for every manufacturing task is this. Numerous data indicate that demand for canes made from a single piece of rare wood with an integral and distinctive crook handle significantly surpassed production capacity. Posh retailers offered these in the fashionable capitals of the western world at exorbitant prices, and their uniqueness made them highly sought after. Frizon and Antoine in Paris, Franz Hiess & Söhne and L. Schuh's Nachf. Edlauer in Vienna, and Swaine, Adeney, and Brigg in London are just a few of the upscale retailers. Canes with crook handles made from a single piece of rare wood were frequently the preferred option for royals, high-ranking nobility, and prominent politicians, as these individuals often had a strong penchant for discretion over ostentatious canes. According to the account of the last caretaker of this cane for the past half century, his father was in the Austrian diplomatic corps in Egypt at the beginning of the 1940s, when he received it a gift from Achille Groppi (1890–1949) in Cairo. Groppi, one of King Farouk's closest friends, was also, like King Farouk, a well-known antiques and cane collector. Piratinera Guianensis, or snake wood, belongs to the Moraceae family and originates in tropical South America. It is a truly exotic species, and it is probably one of the most difficult woods to find. Typically, it is a very small tree and only shows the wonderful reddish brown heartwood with speckles of black appearing as hieroglyphics or snakeskin markings in a small quantity of the wood and then rarely evenly spread across the entire face of the board. Its markings, which resemble those of a snakeskin, give this small, relatively rare timber its name. Snake wood is dense, extremely heavy, and can be somewhat challenging to work with. It splits fairly easily and tends to splinter. It's also difficult to cut and drill. However, it becomes very smooth when finished and has a superb, natural polish.
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