Wandelstok van gevernist hout met platte koperen knop, waarin opgerolde plattegrond Parijs 1889

Curator: Well, hello! I’m here to introduce a piece from 1889: it's a varnished wooden walking stick, quite plain at first glance, with a flat copper knob that cleverly conceals a rolled-up map of Paris. Isn’t that something? Editor: It gives off a feeling of purposeful wandering, almost detective-like, you know? The simplicity tricks you at first, but there’s intrigue. Like a secret waiting to unfold. The map transforms the everyday object of the cane into a device, a method, maybe an archive in miniature. Curator: Precisely. Crafted of wood and copper, it shows how function meets understated elegance. Imagine strolling through the Parisian streets, then with a twist of the wrist, orienting oneself in the city... Editor: Right, this map hidden inside! This makes the user both pedestrian and strategist. There is, visually, an element of the uncanny in this combination of plain surface and an invisible inner life, that makes this a conceptual artwork way ahead of its time. You know, this anticipation that you might open it anytime to know the route, its so interesting and unexpected! Curator: And let's not forget the late 19th-century context, right? When Paris was exploding with innovation, artistic fervor, and urban growth, a time of flâneurs and urban exploration… Owning the cane, I think, gave you some confidence for being able to face a booming city! Editor: So, in essence, what you get with this walking stick, isn’t just mobility, but, conceptually, you get an agency within the modern world itself! So that plain exterior speaks volumes… about the hidden depths and knowledge a traveler in that time needed to have. Curator: In a sense, it feels like this cane would become more than the object itself! It looks, sounds, and it certainly feels like a faithful silent companion on our own imaginative Parisian journeys. Editor: Absolutely. I find that there’s a delightful tension created when functionality and ingenuity meet, so perfectly capturing both an era and maybe an ideal for how to navigate through it with both knowledge and creativity.