Late Colonial Artifact (lead tassel or weight)?

metaldetector101 · Dec 23, 2011

No clue hahaha, its got a cool design on it

Breezie · Dec 23, 2011

It's the end of a bell pull. Some of the south ends were made of metal like yours and some had string tassels. Neat find :thumbsup:

Breezie

creskol · Dec 23, 2011

I dug one of those one time, but it was on the end of a rod that is about 3/8 thick and about 3 inches long. Gosh only knows where it is at the moment, but if I can lay my hands on it, I will post a photo sometime tomorrow.

Breezie · Dec 23, 2011

creskol said:
I dug one of those one time, but it was on the end of a rod that is about 3/8 thick and about 3 inches long. Gosh only knows where it is at the moment, but if I can lay my hands on it, I will post a photo sometime tomorrow.

Creskol, Some of the bell pulls were on the end of a rod like you described. I look forward to seeing the pics. Breezie

creskol · Dec 25, 2011

I was researching something else and ran across this, which would be a good possibility for your tassel item:

Breezie · Dec 25, 2011

Good eye Creskol :icon_thumleft:

How to tell the difference between a drawer pull and a bell pull is in the shape. If his tassel is basically round, it's probably a bell pull. If it is flat on the back, it's probably a drawer hardware. Draw pulls were generally 'flat' on the back to prevent scratching the wood. :thumbsup:

Breezie

creskol · Dec 25, 2011

Breezie said:
Good eye Creskol How to tell the difference between a drawer pull and a bell pull is in the shape. If his tassel is basically round, it's probably a bell pull. If it is flat on the back, it's probably a drawer hardware. Draw pulls were generally 'flat' on the back to prevent scratching the wood. Breezie

A lot of them were flat, I agree. However, weren't there an abundance of "pendant pulls" that were not flat?

Breezie · Dec 25, 2011

creskol said:
Breezie said:

Good eye Creskol How to tell the difference between a drawer pull and a bell pull is in the shape. If his tassel is basically round, it's probably a bell pull. If it is flat on the back, it's probably a drawer hardware. Draw pulls were generally 'flat' on the back to prevent scratching the wood. Breezie

Click to expand...

A lot of them were flat, I agree. However, weren't there an abundance of "pendant pulls" that were not flat?

C, Yes there were some round hardware, and the ones that immediately come to mind are the Victorian 'teardrop' style, but if you will notice, the actual teardrop doesn't lie directly on the furniture because the conical back base slightly holds it off. Could MD's tassel be one that was on a base? My thoughts are no, because it is 3 inches long, which seems too long to be a drawer pull, but I guess it could go either way. Breezie

timekiller · Dec 26, 2011

Been taking down light fixtures from my late granddads home.Which was built by his wife's dad in 1915.I have receipts for these fixtures that have those same type pieces on them showing they were bought in 1919.
Take Care,
Pete, :hello:

timekiller · Dec 29, 2011

Also quite a few types can be seen here.And see nothing about that piece saying lead to me looks like brass.And yes solid so does have a little weight.
http://www.harrishouseart.com/CEILING FIXTURES.htm

kuger · Dec 30, 2011

Man!!Winner winner chicken dinner folks!!!!

Colonial site huh??Reason being is there is a friend out here that has dug these similar "mystery items",in 1700-early 1800's sites.I will pass this link to him.Just for conversation,as I dont think his items serve the same function as these?
Good work!!!

Tom_in_CA · Dec 30, 2011

Ha, thanx for the intro Kuger :hello:

What kuger is referring to is an item that shows up in late 1700's/early 1800's sites here in CA (the Spanish mission period). The one in this post from PA does not resemble the types we find in CA though. The kinds we find here have sometimes been deemed to be drawer pulls or boot "janglers" or bell-clappers, and various other explanations. While those may have their original purpose, yet they showed up here in CA for no other purpose than to be indian trade items. Ie.: trinkets with which to trade with the indians. The context of their finds, and the #'s within those contexts outweigh any other explanation.

I don't have any pix readily available from my collection, as I have just gotten a new 'puter here, and haven't transfered over my pix yet. But here's 2 samples that can be found here in CA, that I happen to have a pix of handy: