An early religious Saint Lambert Folk Art Cane, Belgie, ca. 1800

“Hence, Canes are made by shepherds living in the countryside where stars and seasons are the only points of reference and where time does not matter; by old men sitting by the fireside on whom time has lost its grip; by soldiers waiting in the mud of trenches to go back to life or to march to death; by prisoners for whom freedom is so far away that it has become an abstraction. The cane is the work of a man uninhibited, who does not account for his time and for whom time doesn’t matter or no longer means anything” (G. Segas) Popular art canes by L. Jantzen 

Saint-Lambert, born around 635 B.C. in Maastricht, is well known for being the patron saint of that city and also the patron of the Brabant region shared between Belgium and Holland. He is also the patron and protector of hunters.

This One-piece Cane is carved from beech wood, it has on top of the carving a religious scene of Saint-Lambert, just at the moment when Christ appears on the antlers of the deer he was going to kill. Saint-Lambert is shown kneeling and pointing his spear at the deer which is peacefully standing in front of him at this moment, he is contemplating the Christ which appears resplendent between the deer's antlers, a moment which is well known as the miracle of Saint-Lambert. Behind this scene, we see his dog and a bird sculpted which could well be a pheasant which is a typical hunting bird in these countries. 

The rest of the shaft is carved with four continuous lines forming a spiral with interspersed knots as is usual in 18th-century folk art canes of these southern Netherlands regions. The entire composition of the carving is worn but never broken or with chips, the condition is excellent. There is a horn handle. It finishes with an 18th-century saw-tooth decorated top ferrule.

The O.L. of the cane is 89 cm, without chips or cracks, and the condition is excellent. Like most folk art canes, this one is wearing a warm and wonderful patina.

For a similar example of a southern Netherlands Cane see H. Wiegersma, Volkskunst in the Nederlanden pictures 74 en 79  Pag. 67