Historical information

Walking sticks with carved snakes such as this one were very popular household items in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were often given as presents to older men. They were novelty pieces of carving requiring considerable skill and patience and walking sticks were usually hand-made in those days.

Significance

This walking stick has no known local provenance but it is a fine example of a hand-made household item of 100 to 150 years ago

Physical description

This is a piece of brown wood with the shaft of the stick carved to a smooth round shape tapering down towards the end and with a snake shape carved over the shaft from the same piece of wood. The head of the snake juts out from the shaft top and the snake has scaly patterns worked on its surface. The stick has a larger round knob at the top and a metal covering at the bottom. When the stick is held upright and twirled around it gives the impression of a snake coiling and moving up the stick.