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tline3open  Curious item with surprise

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Author Topic:   Curious item with surprise
FredZ

Posts: 1070
Registered: Jun 99

iconnumber posted 05-24-2005 06:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FredZ     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I acquired this item at an online auction and had no idea what it was intended for nor the surprise it held when I received it in the mail.

Can anyone guess what it is and why it is interesting?

Fred

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wev
Moderator

Posts: 4121
Registered: Apr 99

iconnumber posted 05-24-2005 07:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for wev     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
A chalice by the sculpture David Smith?

[This message has been edited by wev (edited 05-24-2005).]

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Brent

Posts: 1507
Registered: May 99

iconnumber posted 05-24-2005 08:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Brent     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It looks like a piece of mid-century modern jewelry with a cup on top. I'd a bought it too, whatever it is!

Brent

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FredZ

Posts: 1070
Registered: Jun 99

iconnumber posted 05-24-2005 08:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FredZ     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Nice guesses. Another clue, it was created by the California silversmith Philip Paval (self proclaimed "Silversmith to the Stars")
The item is about 5" high.

I will wait a day or two and then post the final image that should reveal all.

Fred

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Scott Martin
Forum Master

Posts: 11520
Registered: Apr 93

iconnumber posted 05-24-2005 09:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott Martin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Cigarettes in the cup and matchbooks in the wires? ???
Any chance of a better photo or photos?

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Dale

Posts: 2132
Registered: Nov 2002

iconnumber posted 05-24-2005 11:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Dale     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Could this be a silvered and mounted half of a bra worn by some famous starlet?

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FredZ

Posts: 1070
Registered: Jun 99

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 10:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for FredZ     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Scott,

When I bid on the item it was described as an abstract egg cup. I bid on it because it was an unusual item by Paval. The wires and scraps of metal did not make sense in the images I saw. When it arrived I manipulated it and made a significant discovery.

The next image I post will make it all clear. Hint: The wires and bits are not abstract. If the secret is not discovered I will post image tomorrow.

Thanks for playing and sharing in my find.

Fred

[This message has been edited by FredZ (edited 05-25-2005).]

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Brent

Posts: 1507
Registered: May 99

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 11:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Brent     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Since you say "manipulated", I'll bet it folds up somehow.

Brent

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swarter
Moderator

Posts: 2920
Registered: May 2003

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 12:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for swarter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Brent may have a point - if the base can fold over the top like a lid, it might be a canteen-like travelling cup that can hold liquid, although I can't quite envision how it would work. We have seen the "before" - now how about the "after" photo?

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Scott Martin
Forum Master

Posts: 11520
Registered: Apr 93

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 12:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott Martin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What a fun idea ... A portable canteen Loving/Caudle Cup wink

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FredZ

Posts: 1070
Registered: Jun 99

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 03:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FredZ     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I will end the suspense... The guesses have been great.

Here's the mark.

The jigger was possibly created for a star or some high "profile" individual. Does anyone recognizes who it might be?

Fred

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salmoned

Posts: 336
Registered: Jan 2005

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 05:18 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for salmoned     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Looks like a Joan Crawford eyebrow...

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Richard Kurtzman
Moderator

Posts: 768
Registered: Aug 2000

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 06:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Richard Kurtzman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Looks like Bob Hope to me.

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dragonflywink

Posts: 993
Registered: Dec 2002

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 07:50 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dragonflywink     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I'm thinking Carmen Miranda.

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Brent

Posts: 1507
Registered: May 99

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 08:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Brent     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Carmen Miranda! I was sitting here with the same thought, but couldn't remember the name. Thanks, wink!

Brent

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Scott Martin
Forum Master

Posts: 11520
Registered: Apr 93

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 09:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott Martin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That is great.

I nose what Richard means about the Hope reference.

But to me it is a woman; long hair, earring, hat....

To me it could be Hedda Hopper.

I don't think that is a price tag hanging off the hat but if it were I would have to guess Mini Pearl.

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swarter
Moderator

Posts: 2920
Registered: May 2003

iconnumber posted 05-25-2005 10:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for swarter     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Jiggers, Fred! The inverted picture had the top part of the head obscured - no fair!

Scott is right - clearly a woman - I think there is even a bust below the little bow. And in a Dali-esque distortion, broad shoulders - who was it in the old black-and-white movies that used to wear those wide hats and large shoulder pads?

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FredZ

Posts: 1070
Registered: Jun 99

iconnumber posted 05-26-2005 03:22 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for FredZ     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I wish I could figure out who the caracter is. I am curious if this was a one-of or if he periodicaly made these for his clients. It is a very clever idea reminicent of the wire sketches made by Calder.

Many folks see Bob Hope and I am sure that Paval was portraying a woman. The cup can even be interperated as a skirt.

It is nice to be able find such personal items especially when you aren't looking for them.

Fred

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tmockait

Posts: 963
Registered: Jul 2004

iconnumber posted 05-26-2005 09:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for tmockait     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am not as sure about the gender.That sure does like a Jimmy Durante (sp?)nose!

Tom

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Paul Lemieux

Posts: 1792
Registered: Apr 2000

iconnumber posted 06-01-2005 01:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Paul Lemieux     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yesterday, somebody gave me a silver pick because of the rather strange and interesting figure on it. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was Fred's Paval cup, and I wondered if perhaps both items depicted some kind of folklore character. When I revisited this post, the resemblance between the two characters wasn't quite as strong as I had thought. Still, I decided to post to see if others notice any similarities at all.

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dragonflywink

Posts: 993
Registered: Dec 2002

iconnumber posted 06-01-2005 04:15 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for dragonflywink     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The pick represents a Javanese (Indonesian) shadow puppet from a Wayang play. It's a form of drama originally based on the Hindu Ramayana epic. The figures are typically very caricature-like.

Cheryl ;o)

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salmoned

Posts: 336
Registered: Jan 2005

iconnumber posted 06-01-2005 07:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for salmoned     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I think the key to solving this mystery rests with the hair style and the thing dangling from the front brim of the "hat". This could represent something very specific. The shoulder boosts tend to indicate a fashion period - popularized by Joan Crawford (designer Adrian Gilbert).

[This message has been edited by salmoned (edited 06-01-2005).]

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Ulysses Dietz
Moderator

Posts: 1265
Registered: May 99

iconnumber posted 06-06-2005 09:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ulysses Dietz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Although the profile isn't really her, it makes me think of Ethel Merman as "Panama Hattie." I'm not sure why I even know this, but my father was Merman's stage manager on Broadway in the late 1930s, and Panama Hattie was a famous role for her.

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Ulysses Dietz
Moderator

Posts: 1265
Registered: May 99

iconnumber posted 06-06-2005 09:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ulysses Dietz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ann Sothern played the same role in the 1942 movie of "Panama Hattie" (Cole Porter's musical). And here's a piece of 1946 silver by Philip Paval, which he illustrated in his autobiography.

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