22. Art Nouveau Jeweled Dress Cane
Ca. 1900 Mushroom-shaped silver knob elegantly hand-chased and engraved with a floral bouquet. The design is fluid, featuring tightly bound, slender, bare stalks with a few delicate leaves along the stem, while the blossoms unfold gracefully across the rounded, expanding top. Most of the blossoms have yellow-gold accents, and a few are individ- ually flush-set with precious stones of different colors and shapes. An applied silver-gilt snake with a long, scaled body winds around the stem, gracefully ending in a pointed head above the blooms. The handle is fitted with a rosewood shaft and a metal ferrule. An absolute gem of Art Nouveau craftsmanship appears today in this knob, characterized by elegant, organic shapes, a graceful rhythmic movement, and integrated floral ornamentation. The stem bears an obscured hallmark that, based on its shape and the elusive profile of the long-eared dog head, authenticates it as Austrian, along with an “OD” maker mark followed by an “800” silver mark. The mark stands for Oscar Dietrich (1853–1940), one of the leading Viennese gold and silversmiths of the turn of the century. He took over his father's business in 1881, and handles for canes, umbrellas, whips, and riding crops became his specialty starting in 1887, when he acquired an embossing company in Burggasse. Dietrich worked closely with the Wiener Werkstätte and Kunstgewerbeschule, especially with the renowned designers Dagobert Peche and
Emanuel Margold. H. 3” x 1 ¼”, O.L. 36”
$1,000-$1,500
In any event, flowers have always had the power to delight us with their beauty and diversity. Their appearance can trigger deep emotions because flowers have been rife with symbolic meaning throughout centuries of cultural history, resonating both person- ally and socially. Art Nouveau artists drew inspiration from nature, using flowers to evoke a sense of harmony, vitality, and sensuality. Flowers were often abstracted into stylized motifs, appearing in everything from paintings and stained glass to furniture, jewelry, and canes.
48 - Continental Cane Collection Auction
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