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Walking Stick, Carved Sandalwood, Mysore, Karnataka, Southern India, ca. 1870-1890.

REGISTERED ANTIQUITY – NON-EXPORTABLE ITEM.

 

Object Detail

 

An elegant sandalwood walking stick. Cylindrical in form, proportionally long, and tapering slightly toward the base. The lower end is reinforced with a metal ferrule (probably brass or copper alloy) to guard against wear. The surface is richly worked. The shaft is carved in high relief, encircled by alternating registers of flora and fauna. Paisley-like creepers and dense foliage fill the spaces, while animal motifs such as peacocks and deer appear in elegant procession.

 

These figurative bands are punctuated by geometric borders of beaded and knotted design, which provide rhythm and separation to the composition. The result is a highly ornamental yet balanced design, fully wrapping the surface of the stick. Although functional in form, this walking stick was clearly conceived as a luxury object rather than for everyday use.

 

The walking sticks has a long and fascinating history that extends across civilisations. From the earliest times, people employed walking sticks not merely as aids for travel or support, but also as ornamental objects that conveyed status and authority. By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the walking stick had become an indispensable accessory for the European gentleman, an extension of his dress and demeanour. Within this global culture of walking sticks, the Indian examples—especially those from Mysore—gain particular importance.

 

 

Provenance

 

From a Private Collection in Mumbai, India.

 

Condition

 

Good Condition with minor wear.

 

Dimension

 

 

Literature Comparison

 

1.E.P. Richardson, Walking Sticks of the Eighteenth Century, Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Artsof the City of Detroit 23, no. 1 (October 1943): 6–8. Accessed August 26, 2025, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41501004

 

2.Fashionable Canes, “History of Canes,” Fashionable Canes, accessed August 26, 2025, https://fashionablecanes.com/pages/about-canes

 

3.Melody Amsel-Arieli, “Nineteenth Century Walking Sticks,” Journal of Antiques & Collectibles, December 27, 2021, accessed August 26, 2025, https://journalofantiques.com/digital-publications/joac-magazine/features/nineteenth-century-walking-sticks/

 

4.Dhanajaya S. et al., Availability of Wood for Handicrafts in Karnataka (Bengaluru: Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute, 2023).

 

5.”India – Walking-stick,” sand­al­wood carved with the ten avatars of Vishnu, animals, and foliage in spiral bands; RCIN 11429, Royal Collection Trust, accessed August 26, 2025, https://www.rct.uk/collection/11429/walking-stick

 

6.George Watt, Indian Art at Delhi, 1903: Being the Official Catalogue of the Delhi Exhibition, 1902–1903 (Delhi: Superintendent of Government Printing, 1903).

 

7.Salar Jung Museum, “Walking Sticks,” Galleries → Central Block, Ground Floor, accessed August 26, 2025, https://www.salarjungmuseum.in/Walking-Sticks.html

 

 

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