Black wooden cane with a silver grip of a Jewish peddler's head
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 36.250 inches (92.075 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Depth: 1.750 inches (4.445 cm)
Creator(s)
- Peter Ehrenthal (Compiler)
Biographical History
The Katz Ehrenthal Collection is a collection of more than 900 objects depicting Jews and antisemitic and anti-Jewish propaganda from the medieval to the modern era, in Europe, Russia, and the United States. The collection was amassed by Peter Ehrenthal, a Romanian Holocaust survivor, to document the pervasive history of anti-Jewish hatred in Western art, politics and popular culture. It includes crude folk art as well as pieces created by Europe's finest craftsmen, prints and periodical illustrations, posters, paintings, decorative art, and toys and everyday household items decorated with depictions of stereotypical Jewish figures.
Archival History
The walking stick was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by the Katz Family.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Katz Family
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Black wooden cane with a changeable cast silver plated knob handle in the shape of the head of a Jewish peddler with side locks and sharply pointed nose. It has a hollow, open tubular neck that inserts over the cylindrical shaft. The soft cap and unkempt appearance were commonly used in representations of both Jewish peddlers and beggars, stock figures often portrayed in popular culture. European artisans commonly adorned everyday items such as ceramics, toys, and even walking sticks, with caricatures of Jewish faces. These walking sticks are examples of racial antisemitism becoming part of everyday life.This walking stick is one of the more than 900 items in the Katz Ehrenthal Collection of antisemitic artifacts and visual materials.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Silver colored metal knob handle with gold colored wash cast in the shape of a man’s head inserted on a turned, finished, dark brown wooden shaft. The head has a lumpy cap, unkempt sidelocks, and facial hair. The features are stereotypically Jewish: hooded eyes, open wide beneath thick eyebrows, a hooked nose with a pointed tip, a short bristled mustache, and thick lips. The mouth is open in a toothy smile. The full, pointed beard extends outward, creating a short finger grip. There is an elongated, hollow, tubular neck with a high 2 button shirt collar. There is a plain band at the rim of the open neck bottom which is inserted over the top of a cylindrical cane shaft which has a narrow, gold colored, flat bottomed metal cap on the heel as a ferrule. See 2016.184.57 for a similar knob.
back of knob, red marker : 56
Subjects
- Stereotypes (Social psychology) in art.
- Jews--Folk art.
- Jews--Caricatures and cartoons.
- Jews in art--19th century.
- Antisemitism in art--Great Britain.
Genre
- Personal Equipment and Supplies
- Object