rhinoceros horn - exotic and very expensive antiques

The history of walking sticks comes from 18th and 19th Century blog and from The World of the Walking Stick. Many thanks.

When swords fell out of fashion, canes were substituted, held to the outfit by a ribbon. Then they were hung around the wrist by a thong. Then the walking sticks swelled to the thickness of broomsticks, with a sizeable nob; as the fashion grew older, they grew longer. In time the sticks functioned to support people who had trouble walking, although some people carried the sticks merely for amusement. 

By the mid C18th, the Rococo style was beginning to cause a strong reaction by critics who thought this style too extravagant. The critics demanded a return to a noble, more sober Classicism. The classical notions of order, restraint, and balance gradually took the place of the carefree flamboyancy of the Rococo style. Walking sticks became more stable, with an emphasis on the calm, simple line.

Walking stick manufacturing became big business by the early C19th, and soon the principal London manufacturer reportedly sold 150,000 walking-sticks made of English wood. The sticks were also manufactured in Germany, where whalebone or rhinoceros varieties were claimed to be far superior to those made in other countries. In particular the Ducal State of Hesse was important, as was the city of Hamburg. There Herr Meyer was displayed his fabulous sticks at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Lastly the city of Paris was very involved in walking stick manufacturing.

Walking sticks were made from a wide variety of materials eg European trees like ash and beech. But walking sticks were also created from whalebone, tortoise shell, ram's horn, rhinoceros' horn, narwhal-horn or ivory. The sticks were then sand-papered and smoothed, stained and varnished. Finally adornments were added to the sticks and this endless variety of decorative appendages could include pearls, gold, silver, ivory, ebony, agate, jasper or jade.

Chinese rhinoceros horn and silver swagger stick, c1850

photo credit: Auction Atrium

System canes were hollow at the top and could hide stuff inside (eg documents, letters, secret dispatches or small weapons) or could convert into other objects like seats, music stands and hammers. 

A satirical book of the 1800s, titled Hints to the Bearers of Walking-Sticks and Umbrellas, provided further information on the sticks and noted the proper mode to carry a walking stick so as to avoid accidents, rudeness, or awkwardness when out in public.

rhinoceros horn walking stick with nob handle, c1907

photo credit: Tennants

The question now is “why are walking sticks made from rhinoceros horn so valuable”? The very legislation that tried to protect the rhino­ceros from slaughter and extinction ..made rhino horn rarer. This in turn raised the price of existing horn and made it even more attractive for poachers to illegally slaughter the beast. Rhino horn, now worth about $65,000 a kilo, has attracted international organised crime groups that are usually involved in the trafficking of drugs, arms and humans. It is more valuable than gold.

a pair of carved rhinoceros horns, 19th century

each horn stands 62cm high

photo credit: Webb's Auction House 

There are currently c25,000 rhinos in Africa and they face extinction if poaching continues at current rates. In order to legally sell any OLD rhino horn object, European salerooms have had to gain approval from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs/DEFRA. Newly cropped horn has been totally banned since 1975.

Clearly rhino horn was always one of the most precious organic materials used in canes. Its extremely high price made it affordable for the very few. But now even more so, as these examples will show.

A fine Chinese swagger stick c1850 is 65 cm long. The shaft of tapering form is made from translucent toffee coloured rhinoc­er­os horn with an embossed silver top with a figure in Chinese landscape. In 2011, it sold at auction for £3,100.

A 19th century rhinoceros horn silver-mounted walking cane is 63 cm long. This long tapering stick is entirely plain, with a silver-mounted point and handle cast with scholarly figures within a garden. It sold for £6,000 in 2011.

A rhinoceros horn walking stick with nob handle c1907, is 86cm long (see photo above). It was of course sold with a DEFRA permission letter, and fetched £11,000/USA18,000 in 2011. I could buy a decent car for £11,000!

Webb's Auction House in New Zealand noted that rhinoceros horn artefacts are being increasingly sought by the domestic Chinese market. In 2013 Webb’s Auction House Auckland, a magnificent pair of 19th century Chinese carved rhinoceros horns (see photo) left people gasping when they fetched $797,300 at auction. These richly intricate decorations represent the auspicious Chinese symbols of beauty, healing, perseverance and longevity.