Mysterious Sunbird

[ghopper1924]

Hey all:

This bird has a mysterious purpose. Was it the head of a cane? Hmmm.....

It appears to be modeled after a Sunbird, from the tropics. It's red, decorated by hand with yellow and blue flowers with green leaves, with a black patch around the red eyes and a long, curved yellow beak. It seems to be made of cast iron.

If you look at the photos, you'll see on the underside that the bird is hollow, with a flat stretch of metal in front of it. The metal is heavily scratched, as if the bird had been slid back and forth many hundreds of times, but I have no idea why.  I'm guessing that it was mounted on something, thus the idea about the cane. But that's just a shot in the dark.

I'm guessing from the style of painting that this is ca. 1880-1900, but I have no proof of age.

This was bought in the U.S. midwest as part of a job lot. It measures 2" wide by 8.5" from "tail" to the tip of the beak.

What do you think this was used for?

[KC]

Love it!

Something is just beyond my memory...something to do with puncturing/opening at a general's store. 
Could the beak have been used in that fashion?  Does it show wear like that?

Is the beak hollow?  Does it appear to have anything missing? 

[cogar]

Being a “cast” iron piece, me thinks the “scratches” on the base was caused by a belt-sander that was used to “sand” it smooth so that it could be “attached” as a handle or lever to a door, drawer or .

[ghopper1924]

Being a “cast” iron piece, me thinks the “scratches” on the base was caused by a belt-sander that was used to “sand” it smooth so that it could be “attached” as a handle or lever to a door, drawer or .

That makes sense. It was definitely attached to something like a lever or door, and it had to be a very smooth connection, thus the filing, etc.

The wear on the beak is not consistent with puncturing or opening things; it really just looks like the same consistent wear that the rest of the bird has.

Thanks for the input, both of you!

[cogar]

The wear on the beak is not consistent with puncturing or opening things;

But “decorative” handles, knobs, etc., are not used for “puncturing or opening things (containers)”

The wear of the paint on the beak, the head and the body of your item is consistent with the “handling” (pun intended) of other “painted” cast iron items, such as, to wit:

An antique cast iron piggy bank

[ghopper1924]

The wear on the beak is not consistent with puncturing or opening things;

But “decorative” handles, knobs, etc., are not used for “puncturing or opening things (containers)”

The wear of the paint on the beak, the head and the body of your item is consistent with the “handling” (pun intended) of other “painted” cast iron items, such as, to wit:

An antique cast iron piggy bank

Yep, the wear does look like "handling," over a period of decades, maybe a century.

So, thanks to the "other" site, someone found this. It looks like we've got a doorstop on our hands, though mine might have had a plate or shoe underneath, to which it was attached. In any case, it's good to know that my bird isn't without value:

https://www.rubylane.com/item/532312-SB-0001/Vintage-Hummingbird-Cast-Iron-Doorstop

[cogar]

Great piece, ……. we should have guessed it was a doorstop …. iffen I had only remembered the dimensions you posted …….. " 2" wide by 8.5" length"

[ghopper1924]

Now that we know, it seems obvious. Good brainstorming all around!

[KC]

What a fun piece!  Interesting - yours must have been moved around alot with the wear on the beak.  I know we played with my grandparent's door stops and they weren't near a fun looking as this one!

[cogar]

When I first looked at the picture of the above cast iron “bird”,

I thought it might be an artistic example of a Kiwi bird, …… because, to wit:
 

[ghopper1924]

When I first looked at the picture of the above cast iron “bird”,

I thought it might be an artistic example of a Kiwi bird, …… because, to wit:
 

Ahhhhh.......I like that little guy.