Cane

Object Name:

Cane

Object ID:

1966.545.036

Place of Origin:

Japan

Date:

1850-1900

Description:

Cane, Japanese. Wood-like shaft with slightly bulbous knob at top, slightly bent to side. Carving and finishing from surface from top to bottom. About eight raised rings around diameter of shaft at somewhat regular intervals, indicating growth similar to bamboo. Small decorative circles carved into surface of knob at top, 0.3" diameter. Well worn. Three carved and/or smoothed bands around diameter about 0.4" from top. Another series of bands 4.8" below them. The three bands 0.6" high in both cases. Vertically-oriented rectangular border with rounded corners between bands. Left and right edges meet each other on one side of shaft. Female Japanese figure facing left in center. Hairdo, face, neck, and part of her costume visible. Costume extends to left, right, and bottom borders. Small, rounded chip-carved dimples as background to her head and part of her body at her left side. Designs on costume carved in place. Her hair arranged and colored dark with incised lines in it. Regular geometric design at top and bottom edges around outside edges of border. Space 0.125" high with vertically-carved flutes that extend around outside surface below that and below the three decorated rings. Another band of three decorated rings at bottom edge. Another series of three decorated rings, again ~0.6" high, 0.47" below edge of band. Below decorated rings, area of vertically-oriented rectangular border with rounded corners. Left and right edges meet where they wrap around shaft. Meeting point coincides with similar design above it that contains female figure. Similar design motif further down shaft where edges meet on same side. This central area contains blossom with some leaves and a stem that butt up against right edge. Small bird figure on left side of blossom. Portion of bird seen as if sitting in blossom and only chest and head visible extending out and facing left. In empty spaces at top and bottom and along left, small, smoothed chip-carved dimples. Incised lines to help delineate blossom and leaf details along with abstract feather details on bird. Eye and beak incised on bird. Geometric carved design on background outside of border, with alternating blocks of designs either simple dimples or simple dimple in middle or roughly parallel line obliquely angled in the squares. Once again, short section of carved flutes around shaft with another three decorative rings as border. Next picture segment: 4.8" high. Again, vertical rectangle with rounded corners, wrapped around shaft. Edges meet. A female figure, very similar to one at top, in this scene. Figure faces left. Arranged hairdo. Costume extends to edges of border. Costume also goes to left edge more completely than top figure. Incised designs on costume. Incised lines in hairdo for detail. Background of chip-carved dimples around head of figure that extends to border. Geometric pattern of squares with alternating oblique lines in each square outside border. Three decorative rings at bottom edge of scene. Repeat of vertically-oriented, carved fluting around shaft. Space, 1.3" high bordered by three decorative rings at its top and bottom edges below fluting. This area A series of six rows of squares that wrap around shaft in this area. Alternating patterns of four dimples or parallel oblique lines in squares. Another set of three decorated rings below this pattern. 7" of vertically-oriented carved fluting terminating at steel ferrule below rings. Ferrule 0.7" high with thin bottom plate slightly bent up.

Material:

Wood
Metal
Bamboo

Dimensions:

W-1.4 L-36.2 D-1.1 inches Weight-5.5 oz

Provenance:

From the Horace W. Harmon Collection. Described by Harmon as "Japanese Cane no history in my knowledge."

Credit Line:

Gift of Horace W. Harmon

People:

Harmon, Horace W. (1844-1911)

Subjects:

Canes