83. Porcelain Dual Purpose Container Cane
Ca. 1840 The voluminous porcelain handle is modeled in a smooth, vertical, waisted shape, echoing the elegance of earlier Baroque taste. Its plain body is extensively micro-hand-painted with what appears to be a family, father, mother, and three daughters, enjoying a leisurely moment in a park, serenaded by their son on the guitar. This large, detailed panel continues seamlessly around the knob, opening onto a clearing with a castle perched on a hill, a flowing river below, and a boat drifting beneath a sky streaked with delicate, weather-brushed clouds. The oval, slightly domed top depicts a charming genre scene of a courting couple amid a scattering of blooms. The painting’s “visual grammar” and the richness of its wide-ranging palette suggest a Ger- man origin, possibly Meissen in the first half of the 19th century, when porcelain remained a luxury reserved for the few. Yet what truly makes this knob singular is its hidden secret: it hinges open to reveal a deep container for snuff tobacco. Remarkably, it has survived intact, superbly preserved, with a pleasing lustre and finely chased gilt-metal fittings. It is paired with a pearwood shaft and a metal ferrule, completing a piece of pure luxury, a fragile, first-rate legacy. This cane holds a unique allure, bridging multiple collecting fields and enhancing its desir- ability. Over the years, tobacco has inspired a vast variety of boxes, containers, and occasion- ally canes with similar ties, yet few combine such artistry, function, and charm. In its quiet elegance, this piece invites a moment of reflection, and a small, enduring wonder at the beauty concealed in the smallest of objects. H. 2 ¼” x 1 ½”, O.L. 36 ¼”
$700-$1,200
Porcelain was so coveted that men risked, and sometimes lost, their lives in the quest to un- cover its secrets, and among its most cherished forms were snuff boxes. If one wished to present a gift that dazzled the eye and spoke of the highest regard for its recipient, what better choice than a porcelain snuff box? In 18th-century Europe, such a gesture would have conveyed refinement and taste, and for those privileged enough, the ultimate selection came from the crème de la crème of makers, the factory that had unlocked the elusive secret of “White Gold”: Meissen.
170 - Continental Cane Collection Auction
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