St Paul and Socrates Cast Iron Plaques

I have found two cast iron plaques and have identified them as St Paul and Socrates - see the photos - these photos are ormulo castings and I have shown these because they are clearer than mine which are black and a little rusty and do not photograph well. Mine do not have the ornate surround nor are they framed.

I have no idea where they originate from - I found them in my late mothers garage - as I have not seen them before.

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Why not show YOUR items if you want answers to your questions?

 

Yes, firstly, I think Socrates and St. Paul are an odd combination. Are you sure they've been identified correctly? Secondly, please be kind enough to post good quality photographs of your pair. Make sure to photograph both plaques in full from both the front and back. Also, add size and material. That will assist us in assisting you.

Debor

 

Probably St Peter and St Paul, but we really can't tell until we see the plaques.
The first one certainly isn't Socrates, wrong nose.

 

If they're cast iron, without traces of color, a stiff brushing should be enough to remove the rust, and then stove black to give them a nice finish.

Don't know that this is a situation where "as is" finish is a benefit. The backs can look that way.

 

I think at some point someone misidentified and the misinformation continues to float around the internet. These are marked St. Paul and St. Peter (as Any Jewelry correctly speculated above.)

Debora

 

Thanks everyone and apologies for not posting my plaques - I have borrowed a decnt camera and got some shots now. They are cast iron and measure approx 15 x 12 cms (6 x 5 ins)

 

Thank you. The photographs are helpful because your plaques are nothing at all like the examples you posted.

This is from the UK's National Trust: "Bronze relief plaque, A Bearded Sage or Saint, after Jean Warin (Liège 1607 - Paris 1672). One of a pair. These bust reliefs, sometimes supposed to depict Saints Peter and Paul, are almost identical to a pair in the Detroit Institute of Art inscribed as by Jean Warin, but versions in wax are signed by Johann Heinrich Schalch (1623- c.1704)."

So even their identification as St. Peter and St. Paul may be later and incorrect.

Debora

 

Anyway, yours look like something that came off an old cast iron stove. Let's see what others think.

Debora

 

For future reference, conventional depictions of Socrates have him quite, although not absolutely, bald, with a turned up little snub nose. He was said to have the face of a satyr. I think the National Trust is being extremely cautious. The plaques accord well with conventional depictions of the two saints. The fact that they are a pair is also telling.

 

So wait— which one is lending money? Asking for a friend