FANTASTIC AMERICAN CARVED 19TH CENTURY FOLK ART WALKING STICK.

FANTASTIC AMERICAN CARVED 19TH CENTURY FOLK ART WALKING STICK. A magnificently carved walking stick of the first order from a single piece of Walnut. Carved with tremendous skill and patience, this walking stick measures 37” tall and features six octagonal “cages” each housing three carved balls and separated by a round section of the walking stick. Each “cage” is slightly smaller than the preceding one as the stick tapers from top to bottom. Within the “cage”, each of the carved balls clearly show the carver’s strokes. Between each of the “cages” are carved octagonal “washers” also fashioned from a single piece of wood. The foot of the stick is an octagonal urn shaped finial and the hand piece or stick-head is carved with octagonal facets and forms a right angle to the walking stick. Rather crudely incised on the back of the stick head is carved “T.A./LIBBY/1864”. This carving is light and certainly not from the same expert hand that carved this cane. It is doubtful that the writing is contemporary with the walking stick’s origin.

This type of American folk art is rare and specimens exhibiting this magnitude of difficulty and size are extremely rare. Often fashioned by prisoners of war and sailors with long duty periods at sea, this type of carving take hours, days and months to complete. Although a few minor elements are missing, the walking stick presents a wonderful appearance and is quite fascinating to examine and imagine the amount of time and talent that it took to create such a magnificent piece of woodworking. CONDITION: Very good. Overall appearance is very nice; however, the entire exterior surface has been coated with a somewhat crude application of shellac. One of the carved balls is missing from the “cage” closest to the handle, and it appears as if four of the carved octagonal “washers” have been lost. 4-54434 CoW3 (1,500-2,500)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2005

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	738	$0.00	FANTASTIC AMERICAN CARVED 19TH CENTURY FOLK ART WALKING STICK. A magnificently carved walking stick of the first order from a single piece of Walnut. Carved with tremendous skill and patience, this walking stick measures 37” tall and features six octagonal “cages” each housing three carved balls and separated by a round section of the walking stick. Each “cage” is slightly smaller than the preceding one as the stick tapers from top to bottom. Within the “cage”, each of the carved balls clearly show the carver’s strokes. Between each of the “cages” are carved octagonal “washers” also fashioned from a single piece of wood. The foot of the stick is an octagonal urn shaped finial and the hand piece or stick-head is carved with octagonal facets and forms a right angle to the walking stick. Rather crudely incised on the back of the stick head is carved “T.A./LIBBY/1864”. This carving is light and certainly not from the same expert hand that carved this cane. It is doubtful that the writing is contemporary with the walking stick’s origin. This type of American folk art is rare and specimens exhibiting this magnitude of difficulty and size are extremely rare. Often fashioned by prisoners of war and sailors with long duty periods at sea, this type of carving take hours, days and months to complete. Although a few minor elements are missing, the walking stick presents a wonderful appearance and is quite fascinating to examine and imagine the amount of time and talent that it took to create such a magnificent piece of woodworking. CONDITION: Very good. Overall appearance is very nice; however, the entire exterior surface has been coated with a somewhat crude application of shellac. One of the carved balls is missing from the “cage” closest to the handle, and it appears as if four of the carved octagonal “washers” have been lost. 4-54434 CoW3 (1,500-2,500) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2005 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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