Oh, wwh, how funny and true! What a clever observation about the movement from mantle to refrigerator door!

There is a wonderful fireplace mantle at the Dooley House at Maymont here in Richmond. There's a quite a mystery about it. Various scholars and curators have examined it, but cannot unravel what the separate frames of carved wood figures refer to. They suspect folks tales may be the source of the carvings, but they cannot pinpoint the specific tales. I hope I live long enough to see the mystery of the Dooley House mantle solved.

Edit: Why is it mantle for fireplace shelf can be spelled both ways: mantle or mantel? Is there some preference of one over the other?