Samoan
John LaFarge's Walking Stick, about 1890
Coconut or breadfruit wood, 96.52 cm (38 in.)
This wooden walking stick is a simple long, thin wooden cylinder that leads up to a handle that curves at the top, almost like a curving snake head, at almost a 90 degree angle. The stick itself is made from coconut or breadfruit wood and is a deeply aged brown, perhaps stained, with lighter color gradations. The lower part of the stick shows areas of chips and other wear, with areas of lighter brown wood showing through, and the lower end has a brass-colored tip. The handle likewise is of a lighter color, perhaps due to wear from usage.
Long Gallery
Commentary
A Samoan islander gave this walking stick to artist John LaFarge during his journey throughout the South Pacific between 1890 and 1891. Years later, when LaFarge visited Isabella Stewart Gardner at her museum, he pointed to a display case in the Long Gallery and said “There! That is where this stick...should be some time.” After LaFarge’s death, she enshrined his “favorite stick & great companion” in the spot he had indicated.