The 5 faces on a heart pendant box - SMP Silver Salon Forums

SM Publications

Silver Salon Forums - The premier site for discussing Silver.

SMP | Silver Salon Forums | SSF - Guidelines | SSF - FAQ | Silver Sales

The Silver Salon Forums
Since 1993
Over 11,793 threads & 64,769 posts !!

General Silver Forum

Silver Salon internal search
or

REGISTER (click here)

How to Post Photos

SMP Silver Salon Forums
tline

General Silver Forum
tline3

The 5 faces on a heart pendant box

profile | register | preferences | faq | search

SSFFriend: Email This Page to Someone!

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Author	Topic: The 5 faces on a heart pendant box
ringboxlady Posts: 95 Registered: Mar 2002	posted 06-12-2016 12:30 AM Hello Fellow Silver lovers! I recently purchased this box and I am wondering if you think the faces look familiar. Any light you could shed on the pendant/box would be greatly appreciated. I believe the mark by the word sterling is a 4 leaf clover of which I've not found a maker... This box is rather tiny, about 1.5" by 2". IP: Logged
ringboxlady Posts: 95 Registered: Mar 2002	posted 06-12-2016 12:34 AM I forgot to mention the beautiful monogram on the back! Just another reason it's so wonderful! IP: Logged
dragonflywink Posts: 993 Registered: Dec 2002	posted 06-12-2016 09:18 AM Interesting locket, do feel like I should know the faces. Believe the maker was Howard Sterling... ~Cheryl IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 06-12-2016 09:22 AM Courtney, If possible, better photos please. This is an attempt to improved the photos you posted. IP: Logged
ringboxlady Posts: 95 Registered: Mar 2002	posted 06-12-2016 09:27 AM Thanks, Cheryl and Scott! Cheryl... They do look like people of history! I know someone here will have an answer! Scott... Thanks for fixing the pics. You're always so good to help out! IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 06-12-2016 01:04 PM I suppose the leaf that appears more than once is a hint. The leaf looks like it could be a holy leaf,so perhaps there is holiday connection? IP: Logged
June Martin Forum Master Posts: 1326 Registered: Apr 93	posted 06-12-2016 01:17 PM Looks like the faces cover a range of time periods. Some look to be late 19th century and some look to be early 20th century. Wondering if that could be a clue to the face identities. They sure do look familiar. IP: Logged
ringboxlady Posts: 95 Registered: Mar 2002	posted 06-12-2016 01:54 PM Scott and June, I too noticed the holly leaf making an appearance several time. One looks sort of like Caesar and then one looks like a version of Charles Dickens. I also see one man looking like Scrooge. The guy in then bottom, well, I just can't put my finger on a tentative name for him. Perhaps the baby in the middle is a reference to Baby New Year(very long shot) LOL... Anyway, I'm hoping someone will see who they really are and give us the answers! IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 06-13-2016 10:29 AM This would be a good post for the great faces thread. I don't have any good ideas about the identity of the people, but is fun to think about and thanks for the post. A heart shaped box could have love in mind and the holly leaves could invoke a feeling of protection. The different ages of the men depicted could have something to do with the passage of time or place. None of these fit together in my mind to form an answer. Your locket also has an interesting hinge. IP: Logged
ringboxlady Posts: 95 Registered: Mar 2002	posted 06-13-2016 10:53 AM I have several English Lit teachers and History buffs on my friends list and this is what we've been throwing around. The face in the upper left corner we think is a woman. If you look at the other view provided of this face, it shows something on top of the head, perhaps a bow or ribbon or small hat. It initially looks like a Greek/Roman man but we ( my friends and I)!think it is possibly a woman. Upper right is suspected to be Chatkes Dickens, bottom left is suspected to be Mark Twain and the bottom right is suspected to be Leo Tolstoy! These are all large assumptions. It's the little person in the middle who confuses us the most! I think it's another woman! Some others agree. It's also been mentioned they could be characters of literary works! If putting it on the "faces" thread will get it more attention then by all means, place it there! Thanks for your opinion ahwt! IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 06-13-2016 10:56 AM Better photos please. It would really help. IP: Logged
ringboxlady Posts: 95 Registered: Mar 2002	posted 06-13-2016 11:25 AM Scott, I'm confused as to why better photos are needed. Is there something I am misunderstanding? Courtney IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 06-13-2016 02:32 PM I'm the only person who thinks a better photo of the faces would be helpful?? IP: Logged
ringboxlady Posts: 95 Registered: Mar 2002	posted 06-13-2016 07:59 PM I will do some great pics next week sometime! In the meantime, please rack your Sterling brains for me on who they could be! LOL.😊😊😊😊 IP: Logged
seaduck Posts: 350 Registered: Dec 2006	posted 06-13-2016 10:38 PM With all due respect, I disagree with all your pals! Try plunking each of the suggested names into Google and do an image search. Look particularly at hair styles and facial profiles (noses and face proportions). My sense is that these faces are so distinctive that they are meant to be immediately recognizable either as individuals (well known people) or as caricatures/stereotypes. Re Mark Twain: He was always very dapper and put-together....sort of the Tom Wolfe of his time. So this rustic face wouldn't coincide with a lot of people's image of Twain. Dickens: maybe right era, but I don't think there is any image showing this distinctive facial hair! Tolstoy: I get where this is coming from, because it's a familiar face and I also was thinking some famous Russian, then Nietzsche came to mind. But there's no correspondence with Google images. The Graeco-Roman face: The pronounced chin, nose, and ear all seem to argue for a male. But then I looked at the image you mentioned (pasted it into MS Paint and rotated it) -- and I can see what you mean about the hairdo. But I still think it's a guy. You've given us a wonderful puzzle! It would help, when you take the new photos, if you could take an image that is straight-on, perpendicular to the object, rather than the oblique images we've seen here. (Maybe setting a light source at an angle would help.) IP: Logged
agphile Posts: 798 Registered: Apr 2008	posted 06-14-2016 09:32 AM I am intrigued that this is proving so hard to solve. I agree with Seaduck in that I see no similarity to Dickens or Tolstoy. When I saw the original post I assumed the faces related to some novel (or play) that would have been well known at the time. I imagined that the central face was a child whose innocence and goodness had exerted some positive influence on the adults around her (a typical late 19th or early 20th century plot). The heart shaped surround is in line with such a sentimental reading. Is there some piece of American fiction that would fit the bill? IP: Logged
Polly Posts: 1970 Registered: Nov 2004	posted 06-14-2016 02:43 PM I saw a match safe in an online auction in the same pattern. Could it be characters from some famous Christmas story? The obvious one is A Christmas Carol, but it isn't obvious to me which face would correspond to which character. IP: Logged
Polly Posts: 1970 Registered: Nov 2004	posted 06-14-2016 02:49 PM Also, the match safe has an additional face: a winged fairy or angel wearing a cap with bells on it. IP: Logged
Polly Posts: 1970 Registered: Nov 2004	posted 06-14-2016 03:51 PM Here you go: IP: Logged
ringboxlady Posts: 95 Registered: Mar 2002	posted 06-14-2016 04:40 PM Wow!!! Thanks Polly for posting the wonderful picture of the vesta case. It's gorgeous! Now I'm even more intrigued with the faces! I suppose there was no info as to what it represents? Your post is greatly appreciated and hopefully with your version someone will see just the thing that solves the mystery! IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 06-16-2016 10:31 AM Perhaps this will provide some inspiration: Hierarchy of Beards IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 06-19-2016 03:52 PM I haven't an answer. I may have a clue.... I can not find an image of an angel, cherub or putti, wearing a hat much less a hat with bells..... I'm thinking its a clue? IP: Logged

All times are ET	next newest topic \| next oldest topic
Administrative Options: Close Topic \| Archive/Move \| Delete Topic
	Hop to:

Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.46a

^1. Public Silver Forums (open Free membership) - anyone with a valid e-mail address may register. Once you have received your Silver Salon Forum password, and then if you abide by the Silver Salon Forum Guidelines, you may start a thread or post a reply in the New Members' Forum. New Members who show a continued willingness to participate, to completely read and abide by the Guidelines will be allowed to post to the Member Public Forums.
Click here to Register for a Free password

^2. Private Silver Salon Forums (invitational or $ donation membership) - The Private Silver Salon Forums require registration and special authorization to view, search, start a thread or to post a reply. Special authorization can be obtained in one of several ways: by Invitation; Annual $ Donation; or via Special Limited Membership. For more details click here (under development).

^3. Administrative/Special Private Forums (special membership required) - These forums are reserved for special subjects or administrative discussion. These forums are not open to the public and require special authorization to view or post.

| Home | Order | The Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects | The Book of Silver