door bell?

[Greg Barnes]

Need help with this, i'm hoping somebody has seen something like this before. A buddy of mine gave it to me a while back, cleaning out an estate, it was going to be tossed and he knew i would appreciate it.
The base that it is mounted on is 1' tall and 8'' wide, the weight on the left side of it is mounted on a 2' chain and the ring pull on the right is mounted on a 3' chain. weathered, hand carved wood. I have never seen nails like the ones used on this piece. cant find a single marking on it anywhere, when i got it the axle was broken, i drilled it out and glued in a dowel so it could spin. Thanks for any help!

 

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[Hendo0601]

I don't know what it is but it sure is cool!!!!!

 

[Greg Barnes]

the 3 bells are about 2'' wide at the outter lip and 3 1/2'' deep

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I've never seen anything like it but a couple thoughts come to mind.... Maybe an alarm bell? Pull the chain and it rings while taking up the weight, and the weight rings it on the way down too....

 

[tamrock]

I'm thinking some kind of antique security alarm mechanism. Sure has some medieval looking mechanics going on with it. No doubt made by some German of the Black Forest region. Has kind of cuckoo clock thing going on with it. Very interesting item.