Cane
1 of 17
Object Label
This wood cane displays the transference of a historical African form and technique, the staff carved with a spiraling narrative, to the Americas. Probably made by an as-yet unidentified Black craftsperson, the cane exhibits embellishments that express African American concerns following the Civil War. At the bottom, Africans are brought in chains to the United States; above, Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, and the chains are broken as Liberty leads the way under the American eagle.
Caption
American. Cane, 1865–1900. Wood, metal, 35 x 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (88.9 x 11.4 x 3.8cm). Brooklyn Museum, Marie Bernice Bitzer Fund and A. Augustus Healy Fund, 1996.179. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1996.179_colorcrrected_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Cane
Date
1865–1900
Geography
Place made: United States
Medium
Wood, metal
Classification
Dimensions
35 x 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (88.9 x 11.4 x 3.8cm)
Credit Line
Marie Bernice Bitzer Fund and A. Augustus Healy Fund
Accession Number
1996.179
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at
