www.925-1000.com

here's a c1870 gorham master butter knife. i'm trying to figure out who this man is. his distinctive hat may offer a clue. suggestions i have heard so far include galileo, leonardo, and don quixote. they all bear some resemblance, but i'm not completely convinced of any of them. the knife is marked with the Gorham mark, STERLING, 90. any thoughts appreciated!

Might be William Cecil, Baron Burghley, adviser of Queen Elizabeth I. At least the beard style and hat look similar. I don't know how much likeness one can expect with this kind of portrait. But of course one can't be 100% sure and he could be almost any 16th century elderly bearded gentleman.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cate ... n_Burghley

thank you! he seems to be the closest. i looked into other figures from the same period--the beards make it very difficult to distinguish these guys! i found several other similar looking chaps but william cecil had the closest hat style.