Featured Unknown crest on hand-carved wood box

I think this box may have been made by my mother's father, who was a carpenter. If so, it was made before 1929, the year he died.

I haven't a clue what the crest on the top represents. Has anyone seen it before? Do the elements represent anything in particular?

I've found crests that are supposed to be from some family lines on that side of my family (Maddox, Whealy, Brandenburg), but they're nothing like what's on the box. I see in old newspapers that my grandfather voted for the Socialist Party, but the crest doesn't seem to represent that, either.

In case it helps... my grandfather was born and lived in California, including Merced, Oakland, and Ventura. His father grew up in Kentucky, and his ancestors lived in various U.S. states and before that in England, Wales, and Germany. My grandfather's mother grew up in Ontario and her family had come from Ireland.

Any thoughts?

 

I just photoshoped the crest to create a sketchy line drawing. Tried using Google image search, but nada. I'm wondering if it has no meaning at all?

 

Is that an Armenian pinwheel design in the wood?

 

Not a crest, but a shield, quartered, on crossed battle-axes - sometimes shields can be found searching under 'coat of arms'...

~Cheryl

 

Really charming box, Pat. Nice to have a true family piece like that.
Can't help though.

Armenia and just about anywhere else.

 

Good to know... Thanks, Cheryl! That may help in my research.

 

Thanks, AJ. It's one of several boxes that I think my grandfather may have made. At first I thought they were just ones picked up somewhere, but when I did geneological research I learned he was a carpenter, plus my mother's first name is carved into the top of one of the boxes.

 

Keep in mind that it may relate to something other than family - could belong to a place, an organization, a military unit, a business, etc., or could be just a fantasy, though I'd suspect that's not the case (and 'escutcheon' would be another search term)...

~Cheryl

 

Thanks, Cheryl, for the additional search term. Good points, too.

I read last night that a single star has significance in California, so that may be relevant.

 

Does anyone have thoughts on the age of the box's hasp?

 

Well, this is interesting... in classical heraldry, third son's bore a star (mullet) in their armor (am I using the terminology correctly?).

My grandfather was the third son in his family. A coincidence? Or not? Hmm....

 

The hasp looks 1880's to 1920 era. The grain of the wood looks like it's walnut, despite the reddish tone which often is associated with mahogany. Walnut became very popular in the last quarter of the 19th century, and was a carvers choice. I'm guessing it's 1890's.

 

Armorials were usually granted to a specific person, they could be be passed on to the family and sometimes were, but more often were just used regardless, and then those doing genealogical research found 'their' family crests, coats of arms, etc. and started using them too, even if far removed from, or even totally unrelated to the original holder. So, unless the carver knew heraldry and made up his own personal shield, then the star wouldn't be related to his birth order...

~Cheryl

 

Personally, just not really seeing this as belonging to a family, the blank quarter makes no sense, with the two striped segments, there should be two starred segments, representing the joining of two families (quartering can get crazy, with large numbers of families represented) - perhaps it was just the carver's simple patriotic design...

~Cheryl

 

certainly not European Socialist. the single axe is rather the opposite.

 

@Pat P What year was your Grandfather born ? The shield has a real 1898 Spanish American War vibe .....

 

Not a dude.

I'd never heard of "mullet" meaning "star" before last night, either. But from what I read, it does.

 

Thanks for the info. That time period for the hasp fits when my grandfather was doing carpentry work.

The box color is darker and less red than it looked in my photos. In person, it's fairly dark brown.

 

It could well be. My grandparents were very independent thinkers, and my grandfather's mother was an artist as was his daughter (my mother). So creating something new from scratch wouldn't suprise me.