Curious Old Carved Green Marble Obelisk with Various Symbols vintage wooden box also known as gum books

also known as gum books

as are the wheels on the wheelbarrow

with a little light scratching on a couple of the coasters as documented

Face itself measures 4 1/2" across

This and the rest from what I understand came from a  sketchbook of drawings Malta did in the 1930s or so

Curious Old Carved Green Marble Obelisk with Various Symbols vintage wooden box also known as gum booksThings like this intrigue and delight me with their primitiveness and earnestness and sense of purposefulness that seems now rather mysteriousness and unknowable. Found in Maine, certainly it was a folk creation maybe, with heart dangling on what might be taken for a chain on one side, a valentine of sorts, or maybe an offering to the gods in hopes of love! What's going on the other sides is a bit less clear, but looks rather like hieroglyphics, and