Bronze cane knob in the shape of a squinting Jewish man’s head
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 3.000 inches (7.62 cm) | Width: 1.875 inches (4.763 cm) | Depth: 2.625 inches (6.668 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 cane knob 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
Bronze cane knob cast in the shape of a Jewish man's head, wearing a patched kippah. 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 cane knob 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
Finely detailed, hollow, bronze knob handle for a walking stick cast in the shape of a man’s head wearing a patched kippah with a rolled brim. He has stereotypically Jewish features: hooded eyes squinting from under thick eyebrows, a big nose with a pointed tip, long bushy sidelocks, mustache, and short pointed beard. He has a fleshy lower lip and his mouth is open in a sneering smile, showing the top row of teeth. He has an elongated neck with a short cylindrical band at the bottom, which would be placed over the top of a cane shaft.
Subjects
- Jews--Caricatures and cartoons.
- Jews in art.
- Stereotypes (Social psychology) in art.
- Jewish folk art.
- Antisemitism in art.
Genre
- Personal Equipment and Supplies
- Object