Steadily growing in popularity starting around the 16th century, canes reached the pinnacle of their popularity amongst the upper classes of society around the late-19th and early-20th centuries. They became more than just an accessory, but rather a symbol of ones status and wealth. This specific cane represents a famous Latin phrase, "memento mori", or "remember that you die". It is discussed and pictured on p. 40-43 of "Larry Mattson Collections: Carved Cane Handles 2021". The phrase and artistic representations of it were used for centuries in Western culture to represent the inevitability of death and later salvation. The bone grip of this particular example has been masterfully carved into the bust of a man who appears be a Catholic monk due to his tonsure/tonsura haircut; however, the bust is divided vertically, with one half showing the live man looking to the heavens, while the other shows the skull beneath. The grip is joined to the shaft by a silver band which is marked "FRANZ HIESS & SOHN WIEN", who is known as one of the most respected master carvers of Meerschaum pipes by collectors, and may have been who carved the grip of this cane. Farther down the shaft is a silver serpent coiled around it and climbing towards the handle, a symbol often associated with salvation in early Christianity. The shaft is of light springy wood with rough knobs/removed thorns scattered throughout and tipped with German silver and iron. Provenance: The Larry Mattson Collection

Excellent, the porous bone grip showing an attractively aged appearance with a few scattered hairline cracks, attractive antique patina on the silver, and the shaft showing a few hairline cracks in the grain.