Page 377 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Utilitarian objects

137 Cane
Wood
37” x 1.75”

166 Cane
Wood
35.75” x 2.75”

Canes (or, more fashionably, walking sticks) were part of a
gentleman’s wardrobe in AR’s early years; his narrative has
many references to them. His own use of them was minimal:
he made many more of them than he ever needed (only one
shows signs of use). But compensating for the cane’s decline as
fashion accessory was its association with age—and therefore
wisdom and authority. That may explain the sculptor’s
attraction to the form, along with the opportunity it presented
for whittling figures on a small scale; certainly, without metal
ferrules, the canes could not be seriously used on any abrasive
surface. AR gave away several canes as gifts, although not
necessarily with greater frequency than other carvings. In these
entries, cane measurements give the total length and the width
at the widest part of the knob or finial; and when the stick is a
separate turned and tapered piece of wood, that fact is
mentioned in the description.

No. 34’s knob is a man with folded arms: his smooth bulbous
head is, quite functionally, knoblike. The stick, although a
separate joined piece, matches the knob closely in grain and
color.

AR carved no. 35 from a single branch, leaving it fairly straight
but roughly finished. The knob is a man in Persian dress
(turban and wide sleeves), a miniature version of no. 80:
smiling, beardless, seated cross-legged, hands in his lap holding
a small object (an alcoholic beverage, no doubt).

The knob of no. 36, a single-piece cane, represents an English
businessman or government official. He wears a top hat
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