Black Forest carved walking stick cane handle in the shape of French bulldog, German, 1900

Black Forest carved wooden bulldog automaton walking stick cane handle, the hinged mouth opens to hold a handkerchief, decorated with inset glass eyes, the mouth with carved teeth and tongue, and the neck with horsehair and leather collar. Swiss or German, circa 1900

Black Forest carving began in the small Swiss town of Brienze. In the early 1800’s the town needed a new industry so the government encouraged combining carving with the existing timber industry. Early carvers in Brienze began to model woodland and domestic animals in fanciful and whimsical scenes out of walnut tree trucks. The central location of Brienze at the foot of a mountain by a lake attracted many tourists, who loved the carvings and in particular the alpine-themed works. Soon Black Forest pieces were being displayed in major exhibitions worldwide including the Great Exhibition of London 1851, The Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876, the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893, and the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. Brienze as a stop along the Grand Tour and owning a Black Forest carving was a sign of wealth and travel, and so became a symbol of status. The finest Black Forest carvings could be found in Royal collections and those of the very wealthy, and the largest markets for Black Forest carvings became Victorian England and the Americas.
A16700