Metal - Sculptural, Pressed Faces, Some Two-Sided

Grim fellow's head, holding a ring in his mouth, like a miniature knocker. This one has two sets of three hallmarks on the back, cannot figure them out. Flat ring around edge, some raised marks there as well, seem to be positioned specifically, not at all symmetrical around the ring, some square, two trapezoids, or like a little raised four-pointed star. Topknot on head. Seen from the side, the head is raised, juts out - all the better to knock loud. Small, for all this ferocity - diameter 11/16", rod 7 3/4".



Happy lady in big hat. Whitish-brassish metal, pressed. Length 1 1/8". Rod loops in back through the face part so the pin and the face are on the same plane, like a pen on a clip in your pocket. Rod 6" in all. Cheery, pressed out, like a cookie cutter. Thin stamp-out. No backer, no thickness at all.



Group photo. We refer to some of these, in the individual write-ups,, by their o'clock position here. This also may help give an idea of their relative sizes. The happy lady, above, missed the group photo.

















Fat little man, leprechaun ethnicity?

Or does he reside under one of the bridges in Grimm's tales? Or a fat little Puck.

At 1:00 in the picture, a favorite. See a brassy trapezoidy shape with a chubby elfin little man, sitting, feet straight out and foreshortened so all you see are the soles, and toes, as he sits on his hands and squints. Like a fat Puck, almost oriental face. But not dainty at all. Moon face. Big ears. 2 1/4" x 1 3/8". Rod 9 1/2".


A fat little man twin-like. Same pose. Feet up. We just found this match for the first one, but this next one is smaller and yellower metal, with a stone and a more raised and different background design, in an oval shape. It looks brass - made at different times? same chubby fellow, same feet out, but with what looks like jade, a round jade to the left. Could be fake, is that a chip down there?

Twins. We may need another category. 1 3/4" x 1 1/4". His shape is shown as pressed out when you look at the underside. Pin rod 10". This one looks "better" than the trapezoidy one, that looks cheaper, but who are we.






Two-faced Girl, face on both sides, Faces in Gold-tone free form glob, swirls, roundy. Rod 8 1/2", face is there but you have to look closely. The hair swirls at the left, then there is the profile.
















Howard Scharfe and Marjorie Scharfe Hatpin Collection, Moorish head hatpin
Who? See the headdress, looping under the chin. Moorish? The face here is matched by the same face on the other side. Two-face. Rod 7 3/4".

Or Janus?

If the two sides here were more three-dimensional in profile, it would look more like it. Do an Images search for Janus, the Roman god.

Janus has two faces, but they are conjoined farther back on the head, not making the slim profile we get here if we turn the pin sideways.

For each, though, the profile of each face looks out in the opposite direction.

Janus is the Roman god that was positioned at door entryways, to watch the going out and the coming in. See ://www.pantheon.org/articles/j/janus.html.

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We think the two in this section are a pair, and both Masonic.


Lady Face Rosette I. Diameter 2/3", rod 8", a little bit bent. Tough use, tough hat. The pin background is a five-petal floral. It is made in this upside-down way. If you hold it straight up, the head faces down. It does not swivel. You would have to put that one in aiming from low to up and out in order for it to be seen well. If you put it in your pocket like a pen with a clip, it is upside down. Enough.

There is a backer, with "sterling top" on it, and a five-pointed star shaped hole in the backer. These markings and materials look identical to Floral II below, and the discussion of whether this could be a "rosette" despite having only 5 sides, not 8. The ancient Egyptian form of rosette was 8 sides. See a 28,000(!) year old design found in Russia with more sides than that. ://www.recoveredscience.com/Phaistosebook05.htm. See in "rosetta stone" that held the key to the meaning of many hieroglyphics.

See various rosettes designs at ://www.graphicxtras.com/products/illustrator_symbols_rosettes_33.htm



Lady Face Rosette II. - Length of head 1 1/4" at longest point, top to bottom, and width 1 1/8Rod 7 1/2"Lady face in the middle of three asymmetrical roses or rosettes, silver. Overall shape is strongly triangular. She looks supremely confident.

Rose or Rosette - in Germany, symbol for confidentiality, see Germany Road Ways, Burg Eltz. The tour materials there (English cards as you followed around the German) said, as we recall, that Electors met there to elect the next Emperor - the rosette was over the door. Whatever was said in that room, under the rose, stayed under the rose - " sub rosa."

The Wikipedia article on "sub rosa" attributes other meanings. Most follow the same theme of confidentiality. The Burg Eltz website does not mention it, or else we missed it. see ://www.burg-eltz.de/e_index.html.

This site affirms that the rose symbol is for silence, and gives the history, and says it is a common masonic symbol. And here is our star - see ://www.subrosamagick.com/Articles/SubRosa.html. Other uses of words with same rose root - http://consultsos.com/pandora/rose.htm

Masonic: rose, freemason symbol of silence, sworn to. A Master Mason's apron has 3 "rosettes" (they use the word) meaning fidelity to the craft, silence as to proceedings, and secrecy as to "sacred secrets." See ://www.themasonictrowel.com/Articles/Symbolism/general_files/the_3_rosettes_on_a_mm_apron_explained.htm. This takes the history back to Egypt, Greeks, Romans, others. Everybody loves a rose. "A rose is a rose is a rose." Gertrude Stein

There is a row of symbols there at masonictrowel - one is a Victoria crown.

Underside says "sterling front" and here is a punched out star on the back plate. Hollow.

These two must be a pair - not twins, but the themes are the same, lady face, rosette /rose on one, multiple roses/ rosettes on the other, identical markings for sterling front, and the backer with the star (each with five points, identical).
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Lady Face, Goldy-brassy and Silver, triangular two-sided Masonic? 11:30. Pressed, hollow, two-faces, one each side. On one side, though, is a maltese cross beneath the chin, and inside that, a tiny center section that looks like enamel,with the sliver moon, three stars below, and a T resting on some ground. Very tiny. Does not look like a cross inside the circle, armpieces dip. Art Nouveau style face, with swirl hair. Leaf shapes, look like ginkgo, or other trefoil. Branch of the Masons? Rod 7 3/4". Width longest part 1 3/8" at bottom of triangle, other sides about 1 1/8".

Why a ginkgo? We just planted one. We would have expected a rosette symbolic theme, see Ladyface Rosettes above.

There is much on supposed Masonic symbolism, including hand positions in art and elsewhere, with the ring and middle fingers together, the forefinger and pinky separated to make an "M" - see ://www.scribd.com/doc/3289775/Famous-Freemasons-Exposed. It is all foreign to us, but we do see the sliver moon and stars, and the cross.



Republique Francaise Liberty Lady. 2:00 in the picture - The Republique Francaise is inscribed on the top of the coin, going around the circumerence - bronze? a coin shape, with a relief figure of Lady Liberty, wearing the Phrygian Cap of historic fame. The hat - see Hello, Fodder, Fodderwear - Phrygian Cap. There is a bar across the back, where the finding is attached. Rod 8". Diameter 1 1/4" scant.

We love our big magnifying glass. There on the back in tiny writing is something like "patent August 11 1923" we think. Ha - look that up and we find that is the date that some poor soul was taken to a train station and never seen again - insurance coverage for the disappeared case - see ://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=ok&vol=/supreme/1934/&invol=39151.

More promising as to connection is this one: a review of Year 1923, and we find Mussolini and Hitler acting up. See ://www.answers.com/topic/1923

Many here are art nouveau in style, with faces in floral or swirly hair background designs. Better and individual photos as we have time.

Go to the animals section for the Horse head. 3:00 in the picture. Angle is wrong for really seeing it. Fine action pose. Silvery, rod 8". There are three holes in a row on the underside, with the finding attached at the middle one. Was this once a pin of some sort? 1 1/4" at longest part.



Lady face, upswept Victorian hairdo 1900. At 7:30. Looks like your aunt. Topknot. Can't see anything written on back plate, but very dirty. Rod 7". How did we get at the 1900? have to look. Flat backing has two little holes in it.


Photos to come:



Lady head with swirls looking again like rosettes, triangular, long hair, flat backing with a star punched out in the back - what on earth is that? An actual star shaped hole there.