Walking Stick

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Walking Stick
Datec. 1862
Possible placeNew Orleans, Louisiana, United States
MediumGold, unidentified wood, and inset compass
Dimensions36 3/16 × 1 1/16 in. diameter (91.9 × 2.7 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Edward House
Object numberB.93.27
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Metals Study Room
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

The walking stick became a requisite of fashion during the seventeenth century.  When crafted from exotic woods and capped with a gold head, it was suddenly elevated to an object of status.  The Bayou Bend example carries an enigmatic inscription. Captain Thomas Forbes, its recipient, was a blockade runner during the Civil War and is believed to have received the walking stick, with a compass mounted in the head, in recognition for having outrun an enemy steamer and safely returned to New Orleans from Havana with desperately needed arms, powder, and coffee.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff.  American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


ProvenanceCaptain Thomas Forbes (1817–1906), Sherman, Texas; inherited by his son, Thomas Forbes, Jr.: inherited by his daughter Bessye (Mrs. T. W. House, III, 1877–1946); inherited by her son Edward M. House, II; given to MFAH, 1993.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Engraved on four sides of the octagonal head: Capt. [t superscript with period [.] underneath] Forbes / Presented by / N.C.T. / Feb.y 9th.. [th superscript with two periods [..] underneath] [while the initials imply an individual's name, they could stand for Navigating Cuban Territory]
[no marks]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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