670 - Walking Stick with Horse Head Handle, Metal, Rust-Coloured Patina, Gold Damascened Decor with Script

Walking Stick with Horse Head Handle, Metal, Rust-Coloured Patina, Gold Damascened Decor with Script Metal, rust-coloured patina. Walking stick with horse head handle, unmarked, thin round shaft, the handle in the form of a horse's head with arched neck, decoration in gold koftgari (gold damascening): bands of Arabic script on the neck, eyes, bridle, stars and mane on the head, leaf motifs and a decorative ring on the shaft, at the lower end six movable metal rings above a ball finial, in good condition, L. 86 cm Koftgari is the technique of gold damascening on iron and steel that originated in Persia; the term is made up of the Persian words for blow and craft, and the craftsman is called a koftgar. Gold wire is hammered onto a finely cross-hatched iron ground or set into cut channels, producing bands of script, stars and leaf scrolls in gold on a dark ground. Through the Timurids gold damascening reached northern India, first the Punjab and later Rajputana; in the late 19th century Sialkot, Gujarat, Multan, Jaipur and Hyderabad were the main centres, in Persia Isfahan and Shiraz; by the early 20th century Sialkot was the only centre still active. With the decline of arms production the workshops turned in the 19th century to domestic and ornamental objects. A walking stick, also called a cane, with a gold-damascened horse head handle shows this decorative work on an object of everyday use.