Featured Carved turk's head cane / stick handle?

I'm hoping somebody might be able to help me identify what exactly this carved head of a fez-wearingTurk may be. It looks like the handle of a walking stick, but is too small. Maybe the handle of a fly swatter, or military swagger stick?

 

Parasol handle?

 

Parasol handle - great suggestion!

 

Thinking it's a bit stubby for a parasol handle, so starting to incline to a walking stick head. Googling 'fez' images shows me some that are more drum shaped, others more like thimbles. Carver may have taken some artistic license in order to make a more comfortable surface for the palm to rest on, or have been working to a stereotypical notion of a 'moor'. How about this one?

 

Thanks for your thoughts, Bronwen. I liked the parasol handle theory because of the thinness of the wooden shaft the handle was attached to, only 11mm in diameter. Were walking sticks ever this skinny?

Also, in case this information helps at all, after close examination I'm convinced that the handle is celluloid "faux ivory", and not real animal ivory or bone.

 

Appears to be a Whirling Dervish.

Debora

 

That was my original thinking, that it was too slender for even a lady's walking stick, while the parasol handles I have seen are very dainty. I have one that was made over into the handle of a magnifying glass & barely seems adequate to the job.

Celluloid is an interesting substance that has been around for quite a while. I'm not enough of a historian of fashion & early plastics to know whether or not Celluloid was in wide use during a time when these delicate parasols were part of a well-dressed lady's accessories. Without being able to handle it or examine up close, I took this guy to be ivory that has been tinted with henna. Not sure Celluloid would stand up to the stress. On the other hand, think they used to make cue balls out of it, so... What leads you to believe it is an artificial material?

Let's throw some Celluloid in here for good measure:

 

Bronwen, I believe it’s made of an artificial material because 1) I can’t see any grain, even with a loupe, as I’d expect with ivory or bone, and 2) I believe I can just make out a parting seam running down the middle of the handle, making me think it’s a casting from a 2-part mould.

The material looks and feels like celluloid to me, and this early plastic was used for this sort of thing in the late Victorian period. So, that’s why I’m leaning towards celluloid being the material, here. Of course, I could be wrong!

Debora, he does look like a Dervish. Same beard, and connical fez without a tassel, as seen in your photo. Thanks for this!

 

Definitely sounds like Celluloid or similar. Is it solid or hollow? I have found that the 'tooth test' for genuine vs. artificial pearls also works for helping to distinguish other organic materials from sometimes very convincing fakes, that no matter how smooth to the fingertips, shell, coral & ivory will still feel less smooth against the teeth than will any kind of glass or plastic.

Also find that sometimes the look & nature of damage can be very revealing. What's going on here?

 

Very nice handle, David.
The headdress of a Dervish is called a 'siqqa', it signifies the gravestone of the ego. In Sufism, as in mystic traditions elsewhere, the abandonment or death of the ego is a prerequisite for the process of opening up to God.

Definitely some kind of artificial material, from a mold. The lines in the beard and face are not carved, there is a dimple in the siqqa, and blobs above his left eye (none above the right eye).

 

Bronwen, I don't believe the crack is age-related. It looks to me like a moulding flaw, as the reddish stain that colours the outside of the handle is right inside the crack.

Any Jewlry, thanks for setting me straight about the siqqa. Amazing the things you learn on this board!

 

It could have been the head of a riding crop. They are much thinner and smaller than canes.

 

Most of walking canes/sticks were fashion accessories, not intended to put weight on them
https://www.fashionablecanes.com/ABOUT-CANES.html

 

I like the idea of a swagger stick better if it's that small and thin......

 

I like the swagger stick idea better, too, but then I do have a thing for militaria...

 

maybe a camel whip..