articulated facial profile
Date: circa 1923
Inventory Number: WJ0113
Classification: Facial Profile
Subject:
Attributed to: C. H. Stoelting Company (1886-present)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
4 x 15 x 11 cm (1 9/16 x 5 7/8 x 4 5/16 in.)
Description:
This instrument is made of twenty puzzle pieces with wooden pegs affixed to their back. Interchangeable features suggest various moods and emotions. The set contains 9 mouths, 5 eyes, 4 brows, and 2 noses, from which 360 possible combinations can be constructed. The board into which the pieces would have been inserted no longer exists; however, there is a custom-built cardboard box with holes in the correct places which was used as a stand for this object when exhibited in 2008 (this mock-up piece has been retained in the collection and is located alongside the original instrument).
The mouths are marked M1-M9; the eyes are marked E1-E5; the brows are marked B1-B4 and the noses are marked N1-N2.
The mouths are marked M1-M9; the eyes are marked E1-E5; the brows are marked B1-B4 and the noses are marked N1-N2.
In Collection(s)
Signedunsigned
FunctionPsychological demonstrations of how altering the configuration of one part of the face changes the emotion expressed. The experimental subject would look at various combinations of parts and indicate what expression he saw in the face.
Curatorial RemarksThis instrument is based on Boring's and Titchener's articulated facial profile set designed at Cornell University. Here is how the two authors described their own invention (see article mentioned pp. 471-473). After a few trials, "we decided on an attempt to realise, in demonstrational form, Piderit's 'geometry of expression,'--not by way of the plaster heads which he himself suggests, but more simply by way of an 'articulated' profile.
The model consists of the profile of a head, about 18 in. high, with various brows, eyes, noses and mouths, that can be fitted into place after the manner of a puzzle picture... The original model at Cornell is made of white cardboard with the outlines drawn in India ink. On the back of every piece is glued a rectangular piece of wood which fits into a rectangular socket in the square wooden base upon which the head is mounted. The base-board is supported on a tripod, inclining slightly backward from the vertical. This arrangement works perfectly: the parts stay in place and, being independent, remain in position even when pieces below them are removed. The contrast between the white cardboard and the black lines greatly assists the visibility of the picture. The parts need, however, to be kept carefully, in order that the cardboard shall not curl up or get soiled or become battered at the corners."
The model consists of the profile of a head, about 18 in. high, with various brows, eyes, noses and mouths, that can be fitted into place after the manner of a puzzle picture... The original model at Cornell is made of white cardboard with the outlines drawn in India ink. On the back of every piece is glued a rectangular piece of wood which fits into a rectangular socket in the square wooden base upon which the head is mounted. The base-board is supported on a tripod, inclining slightly backward from the vertical. This arrangement works perfectly: the parts stay in place and, being independent, remain in position even when pieces below them are removed. The contrast between the white cardboard and the black lines greatly assists the visibility of the picture. The parts need, however, to be kept carefully, in order that the cardboard shall not curl up or get soiled or become battered at the corners."
Primary SourcesE. G. Boring and E. B. Titchener, "A Model for the Demonstration of Facial Expression," The American Journal of Psychology 34 (1923): 471-485.
ProvenanceFrom the Department of Psychology, William James Hall, Harvard University.