Not sure what i have here!

[Mudflap333]

I picked up this piece at a swap meet in SanFran. The women I bought it from said she got it at the estate sale of a couple that use to travel in Eastern Europe allot. Has anyone seen anything similar or have any idea where I should start investigating. Or if its just a modern piece made to look old. Thanks

 

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[Silver Searcher]

It looks very much like a Medieval Limoges Work Mount, similar to this one, but the loop at the bottom is a bit confusing. Wether it's real or not...The wood base has nothing to do with the piece.

SS

 

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[pippinwhitepaws]

I suspect this is modern art...perhaps one half of a piece...the other half slips into the loop on this piece...they both stand up...

maybe a Picasso or dali contemporary..

dali bronze - Bing Images

picasso bronze - Bing Images

 

[Mudflap333]

There is also what appears to be file marks or maybe some sort of cutting 'scar' that runs around the side of the entire piece. I definitely need to find a more fitting base for it. Block of wood just doesn't do it justice.

 

[Silver Searcher]

If that's a seem running down the middle, you can rule out ancient.

SS

 

[artemis moon]

That loop has me thinking..Could it be a clock weight or pendulum that was melted in a fire?

 

[Mudflap333]

If that's a seem running down the middle, you can rule out ancient.

SS

It doesn't look like a seem where two pieces were joined together, if that's the kind of seem your referring to. It looks like its where the metal escaped the mold and created a lip that was filed off. What it does show me is that the shape you see is the intended shape. At first i though maybe some had broken off giving it the odd shape but looks as though no pieces have broken off, the file marks can be seen running around the entire piece.

 

[calisdad]

But would a file leave marks so deep? I'm thinking grinder or belt sander.

So far I think it could be: bell clapper, pendulum as Artemis suggests, half a lemon squeeze, half a nut cracker or an ornament or part of one.
Neat piece regardless.

 

[jojo21]

What if this was part of a bigger piece or some type of fancy tool that pieces broke off and the person thought it could still be used if the jagged areas were filed down? If you look at the picture Silver Searcher posted the filed ares do not seem to go all the way to the top. Seems like it stops Just above the eye area.

 

[CRUSADER]

It doesn't look like a seem where two pieces were joined together, if that's the kind of seem your referring to. It looks like its where the metal escaped the mold and created a lip that was filed off. What it does show me is that the shape you see is the intended shape. At first i though maybe some had broken off giving it the odd shape but looks as though no pieces have broken off, the file marks can be seen running around the entire piece.

You missed the point. Its cast, not lost wax. Modern repro.

 

[Dreadnox]

My guess is eather a clook pendulum a scale counterweight or a bell knocker of some kind and it does look like it has been heated severly.

 

[Mudflap333]

I think I'm going to use it as a soap dish, for all I know that might be its intended purpose.