Handvat van geverfd hout met ronde knop, voor een paraplu of parasol c. 1920

This is a painted wooden handle for an umbrella or parasol, made by Gustav Schnitzler. It's interesting how much care went into this functional object. The layering of the brown paint gives depth, almost like glazing in painting. Focusing on that band with the cross-hatched pattern, you can almost feel the texture of the carved wood under the paint. It’s this combination of the smooth, glossy finish and the suggestion of rougher texture underneath that I find so compelling. It speaks of a careful process. Each layer of paint, each carved line, a step in the transformation of a raw material into something beautiful and useful. There's a quietness to this object, reminiscent of Morandi's bottles, a humble object that gains profundity through careful consideration of form and surface. Like a conversation between craft and art. Neither quite one thing nor the other.