Antique Folk Carved Walking Stick Lady Head Heart and Arrow Love Token

North America, United States, American folk art. A hand-carved wooden walking cane whose handle takes the form of a woman's head and neck. She is shown in profile with an almond eye, a strong nose, and a faint smile. Her hair is combed back in finely incised waves to a bun at the back of the head, and the carver cut a heart pierced by an arrow into that bun, a sweetheart emblem placed where only someone holding the cane would see it. Around her neck runs an incised collar or necklace of small triangles. The neck flows straight into a long, gently tapering shaft with a warm reddish-brown patina, ending in a protective tip. The heart and arrow suggest the cane may have been a courtship or love gift, though the record cannot confirm this. Carved canes are among the most personal forms of American folk art. They flourished after the Civil War and into the early twentieth century. Amateur and itinerant carvers, veterans, sailors, and farmers turned walking sticks into small portable sculptures, and many bore portraits, emblems, or private jokes meant for one owner. Because one hand closed around the handle every day, figural heads like this one tend to develop a deep, worn patina. The heart pierced by an arrow goes back to the classical image of Cupid's dart. In nineteenth-century America it showed up again and again on valentines, scrimshaw, quilts, and carved love tokens. Here it sits in the bun at the back of the head, so the woman faces the world while the declaration of love faces whoever is holding the cane. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. Item # 206524

Estimate:£148.63

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