Cane
Apart from their obvious functionality, canes were an elegant accessory in the 19th century, when the afternoon promenade gave members of the fashionable set occasion to display their finery and genteel manners. This gentleman's novelty cane conceals an elaborately engraved and monogrammed sword blade. While technically functional as a sword, the absence of a proper grip and guard make the cane more suited to braggadocio than actual dueling. Another such gadget cane in the Brooklyn collection (2009.300.1125a–e) contains a liquor vial and tiny drinking glass. Equivalent women's sticks sometimes held snuff bottles, powders vials, or other cosmetic materials.
Artwork Details
- Title: Cane
- Date: fourth quarter 19th century
- Culture: Spanish
- Medium: wood, metal
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Arthur Walker, 1961
- Object Number: 2009.300.1280a, b
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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Irish
late 19th century
possibly Spanish
1850–69
Spanish
1880
probably Spanish
1860–69
Spanish
1860–69
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