WHAT IS THIS???

[katerina00]

Hey guys, I recently came across this item in a box lot that I bought from an auction and I have absolutely no idea what it is. It appears to be made of metal, maybe brass? The base of it also unscrews. At first I thought it was a paperweight but now I'm not so sure. Any help on identifying what this is would be very much appreciated.

[cogar]

You didn't state how tall it was.

If tall enough, my guess would be .... a free-standing "post" like is used in Banks, etc., to "rope-off" a specific area to human traffic.

[katerina00]

Sorry about that (newbie) it's only 44cm tall

[rsorgel]

does the top come off? my first guess is a candlestick holder

[katerina00]

thats what I thought as well but no, the top doesn't unscrew and there is no hole to put a candle in

[hosman321]

Can you post a picture of the very bottom of it?

[katerina00]

sure, it looks like it has a proper bottom to it with a piece of dark green felt adhered to it. Obviously its meant to stand up that way and the green felt I guess it supposed to protect the surface it's sitting on. I'll take a  pic of the base and get back to u

[katerina00]

here is a pic of the base, it was maroon felt not dark green..

[mart]

I think its bronze rather than brass and from the bottom we can say that it was meant to sit on something !! At less that 2 feet tall I am trying to figure out what its meant to sit on !!  Odd thing is,, it doesn`t seem to have a particular use other than to look good sitting somewhere !!

[katerina00]

looking good is questionable lol.. im debating what to do with it at this point, guess I will just have to hold onto it until I find out exactly what it is. I wonder if  the metal has been painted over? We tried making a small scratch underneath it to see the colour of the metal, right now I guess the toss up is between brass and bronze. I'm just itching to know what it is..

[rsorgel]

when the base unscrews is it hollow? like you could put something in it or is it simply solid?

[katerina00]

yeh if u look in the third pic, i think it is.. u will notice that the base is hollow.. almost like you could stash something in there, initially when we opened it we were hoping to come across wads of cash or something lol but it was empty. I thought maybe it could be used as a keepsafe bookend type thing but its too tall to fit on a book shelf..

[mart]

Don`t scratch that patina off !!  If you do that use the bottom, not the main body !!

[katerina00]

dont worry, we just made a small mark inside the threads. Also found out that the top part of it does unscrew as well, so maybe it is a candlestick holder? 

[mart]

I don`t think so !! It would look really strange with a candle !! And many items like this unscrew at various points !! I am still looking !!!