Cricket box / incense burner, India

[GreenhornGirl]

I can't believe it, but by trying a ton of different keywords I was actually able to find out more about this one on my own online.  I found about 4 other instances of this same piece, and it was labeled as a cricket box / incense burner, and looks like it originally had a sticker on the bottom that said "Solid Brass India" (http://www.etsy.com/listing/41533529/antique-brass-cricket-box-india-ca-1920).  Some people have dated it at 1920, others say late 1800s-early 1900s.  What do you think?  Also, one of the things I find most intriguing about this piece is that the inside has string coming out of the brass in various places.  It doesn't appear to have a current function for the piece so I'm thinking part of the process of making this trinket involved the string, perhaps dipping it into the brass somehow?  Any ideas?  And finally:  how might one go about restoring this, if one even should?

[mariok54]

It can frequently be very difficult to correctly identify the origin of  items if they don't oblige you and have a 'Made in...' You've probably already found this one on Worthpoint and they say it's Chinese!
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-or-vintage-large-brass-cricket-box-8l-x-6wx
I would opt more for a cricket cage than an incense burner ... what do others think?

Three more here, but these seem very 'new'

http://www.veghead.com/brass/brassitems.html

[GreenhornGirl]

See these strings?  Incidentally I accidentally brought a cricket home in my basket of stuff after I purchased this that jumped out when I got home and scared the daylights out of me.  I don't think it came out of the cricket box but I still thought it was a funny coincidence.

[mariok54]

Here seems to be an identical one, but they don't seem to give much history!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70317174/vintage-brass-cricket-box?ref=sr_gallery_18&ga_includes[0]=tags&ga_search_query=cricket&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=

[GreenhornGirl]

Thanks, mariok.  Well the reason I was thinking incense burner is because of two things:  1) the style of the pierced cut-outs looks like a design used in churches, for both incense burners and other details like confessional walls, and 2) the way the inside of this piece is discolored looks like from burning something like incense.  But I'm not a brass expert and I'm not positive how brass reacts to fire/heat.  Yes I found a couple other sites that called it made in China, too...but I'm leaning towards believing that it was made in India because of the one I found with the sticker on it?

[mart]

It is a cricket box I think !!  Crickets were kept as pets and to bring luck !!  The discoloration on the inside is because of having to keep something inside to feed the crickets and keep moisture for them !! Potatoes are commonly used for that !! When we use crickets for panfish bait we keep a potato slice for them in the container.  I think India is correct !!