Antique Napoleon Bonaparte Silver Walking Stick Cane C1840 19th Century

This is a beautiful antique gentleman's Napoleon Bonaparte silver plate pommel and ebonzed walking stick, circa 1840 in date.

 
This novelty walking stick reflecting the Napoleonic Wars and the Cult of Napoleon Bonaparte, the pommel features a hinged cover enclosing a sprung mechanism revealing Napoleon rising from his coffin, dressed in full military uniform and in iconic pose, inscribed "Il N’est Plus" (He is no longer), with a hardwood cane.


Add an extravagant element to your daily life with this wonderful walking cane.
 
 
Condition:
 In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.

 used by many people to facilitate balancing while walking. Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. The walking stick has also historically been known to be used as a defensive or offensive weapon, and may conceal a knife or sword as in swordsticks.

Around the 17th or 18th century, a stout rigid stick took over from the sword as an essential part of the European gentleman's wardrobe, used primarily as a walking stick. In addition to its value as a decorative accessory, it also continued to fulfill some of the function of the sword as a weapon. The standard cane was rattan with a rounded metal grip. There were very often made of malacca (rattan stems) and showed the patina of age.

Types of walking sticks:

Ashplant — an Irish walking stick made from the ash tree

Devil's walking stick — made from Hercules plant

Shooting stick — it can fold out into a single-legged seat

Supplejack — made from a tropical American vine, also serves as a cane

Penang lawyer — made from Licuala. After the bark was removed with only a piece of glass, the stick was straightened by fire and polished. The fictional Dr. Mortimer owned one of these in The Hound of the Baskervilles

Makila (or makhila) — Basque walking stick or Staff, usually made from medlar wood. It often features a gold or silver foot and handle, which may conceal a steel blade. The Makila's elaborate engravings are actually carved into the living wood, then allowed to heal before harvesting.

Kebbie — a rough Scottish walking stick, similar to an Irish shillelagh, with a hooked head

Whangee — Asian, made of bamboo, also a riding crop. Such a stick was owned by Charlie Chaplin's character The Tramp

Malacca — Malay stick made of rattan palms

Pike Staff — pointed at the end for slippery surfaces

Waddy — Australian Aboriginal walking stick or war club, about one metre in length, sometimes with a stone head affixed with string and beeswax.

Ziegenhainer:— Knotty German stick, made from European Cornel, also used as a melee weapon by a duellist's second. The spiral groove caused by a parasitic vine was often imitated by its maker if not present

Angelica Kauffman, RA (1741 - 1807)

was a Swiss-born Austrian Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Though born as "Kauffmann", Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name in English; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.

While Kauffman produced many types of art, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting, was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period. Under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote history painting to a native audience who were more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes.

Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society and her success as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy that the British had towards history painting. Ultimately she left Britain for the continent, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.

The works of Angelica Kauffman have retained their reputation. By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various quarters. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait. There were other pictures by her at Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek atMunich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia).

Satinwood

is a hard and durable wood with a satinlike sheen, much used in cabinetmaking, especially in marquetry. It comes from two tropical trees of the family Rutaceae (rue family). East Indian or Ceylon satinwood is the yellowish or dark-brown heartwood of Chloroxylon swietenia.

The lustrous, fine-grained, usually figured wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, veneers, and backs of brushes. West Indian satinwood, sometimes called yellow wood, is considered superior. It is the golden yellow, lustrous, even-grained wood found in the Florida Keys and the West Indies.

It has long been valued for furniture. It is also used for musical instruments, veneers, and other purposes. Satinwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Rutaceae.