Maybe a type of scent bottle used by women in the days when garbage was left out in the streets, they'd have those to take a whiff from to cover up the stench of rotting garbage as they passed by. It looks like a lotus flower engraved on the side and that leads me to believe it's either made in China or Japan because, the lotus flower is revered in Japan and China for its ability to rise from the dirty, murky waters to bloom into a beautiful flower. No telling of the value, because to a precious metals buyer it be worth it's weight in silver only and to someone who collects all the miniature teapots they can find it be worth more to them. I myself wouldn't give more then maybe 8 bucks for it thinking I could sell it for 18 to 20 bucks on eBay, which you could just research the sold description of " miniature sterling teapot's" and maybe get an idea of some possible values.
