Unidentified Brass object...

[davidini]

I'm at a bit of a loss where to turn but I am in need of intelligent minds.

My great grandfather left this object to my mother and said to sell it if she was in need of money.

It is made of brass, weight about 2.5 kg and stands at around 11cm in height. I can't see it being anything valuable but I am still curious as to what it is.

I don't have information about my Grandfather other than he worked at sea. I assume it's something he got on his travels.

Could there be treasure inside? Pic related

 

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[AU Seeker]

I don't know what it is, but you would think if he told her to sell it if she needed money he would've told her what it was and why it's worth enough money to help someone in a financial hardship!!

The price of scrap brass wouldn't do much to help someone in the need of enough money to get by for a while, so there must be some other value to the piece, I hope someone can ID it.

I see there's a hole in the top, is it hollow, is the groove in the side a seam or just a groove?

 

[wvwildman]

brass is down to 1.50$ here so i guess i'll be saving it until the price goes back up ive got about 20 pounds so far that i have found this year with the metal detector

 

[dieselram94]

Have you tried grasping the top and bottom sections and twisting as if to unscrew them from each other? Looks like the top and bottom thread together...

 

[dieselram94]

A candle holder maybe?

 

[bigfoot1]

It is possible that what you have is a floor safe.....meant to be set in concrete.This is a simple guess and nothing more.obviously it is missing top and whatever may have been inside.all bad news but possible.

 

[Breezie]

Okay, I'm going out on a limb and say it could be a betel container, although it is more 'American' looking than Asian but the size is right.

Interesting, Breezie

 

[DCMatt]

Can you tell us when you grandfather was alive so we can get a sense of the age of the piece?

I'd also like to see pics all the way around. I notice some scarring in pic #2 that might indicate the item was repeatedly "clamped" or otherwise held in place by something that marked it. Are there other similar markings on the other side?

Can you tell anything about the makers mark on the bottom?

DCMatt

 

[Breezie]

Can you tell us when you grandfather was alive so we can get a sense of the age of the piece?

I'd also like to see pics all the way around. I notice some scarring in pic #2 that might indicate the item was repeatedly "clamped" or otherwise held in place by something that marked it. Are there other similar markings on the other side?

Can you tell anything about the makers mark on the bottom?

DCMatt

Matt, I noticed those marks too, which appears to be 'older' scarring. I also saw the circle on the bottom, but when enlarged, it was too blurry to see. If we could get a clear pic of the bottom, that may help.

I'd like to to know if the opening looks as if it ever had a lid? Any marks, scars, smoothing that would indicate that?

Breezie

 

[Sentrom]

Are you sure it is red brass? Looking at it, it looks more like bar-stock turned on a tool room lathe. Does it have a hollow cavity or is it solid with a hole bored into the top? In the second picture it looks like the piece could have been something that was plated and the metal below the plating is silver in color. Could this be something silver plated in copper?

 

[calisdad]

I just made a stand for a friend that has a piece quite similar (but different). His was used in swabbing heavy artillery. Same material and size only his has male threads and slots for cloth. Is yours threaded inside the visable hole?

 

[Silver Searcher]

It looks like a brass taper for pushing out bushes, perhaps used on a hydraulic press.

SS

 

[dieselram94]

It looks like a brass taper for pushing out bushes, perhaps used on a hydraulic press.

SS

This was my first thought but the "steps" seem to be tapered which would make it hard to push out bearings, seals, bushings, ect.

 

[pkb]

only time I've ever seen something like that is was used for sizing O-rings and seals

 

[GpSnoopy]

Closest thing I could come up with was a pipe swaging tool. I circled a vaguely similar item from this swaging tool (I know, I'm stretching the imagination at this guess).

 

[dieselram94]

Closest thing I could come up with was a pipe swaging tool. I circled a vaguely similar item from this swaging tool (I know, I'm stretching the imagination at this guess).

View attachment 789133

If this was used for swaging, wouldn't it be made of something harder than brass?