Does anyone know what this item is or any history on it??

[luipoet]

Does anyone know what this item is or any history on it??
It is about 15cm tall

[talesofthesevenseas]

Well, the moon and star are Islamic, so it's a pretty safe bet it is from the Middle-East.

[Texasbadger]

Yes I vote with the pirate woman! Islamic,,Middle east, perhaps a tourist item.

[KC]

I agree Matey!

[talesofthesevenseas]

I oughtta keel-haul the whole bloody lot o' ye!!! ARRRRRRR!!!

Luipoet, what material is it made out of? That might help to determine the use. From the photos, I cannot tell if it is very tarnished brass, bronze, or even possibly ceramic. Can you fill us in?

[luipoet]

I think it is very tarnished brass,originally bronze-colored as the erose edge.

[ironlord1963]

I'm starting to think this something more then a tourist item from the middle east. If not, lots of effort was given to give it a aged look.  This item looks old to me from the second set of pics.  Looks copper and hand hammered to me, but may be I'm just really starting to like the looks of it. 

[regularjoe2]

My initial guess is a brass repousee inkwell , as new as early 1900's perhaps ; as old as early 1800's .

Could also be a reliquary/feretory ( a guess - not so probable , though ) .

I am curious as to how the finial is fixed to the lid .

One thing for sure - it's a lidded vessel !

Also , the brazing repair looks fairly modern .

Cool little container , luipoet .

[ironlord1963]

What history do you have on it luipoet?,  How long have you had it and was it a gift or a find?  I am a bit curious about the label, appear to be a date and price.  So you have the weight on it?  looks really thin not important but just a bit curious about that too.

[luipoet]

I am from Hong Kong,I bought it in a shabby antique shop in Prague last week.
Yes,the label shows the date and price,(in KRONE)
I finally bought it at 400Kz(~USD$20)
It is quite light,less than 100g.

[Skinny]

If you rub it three or more times, does a Genie come out? This is a simple test to help determine its age, as they stopped putting Genies in objects like this around the time of  Suleiman the Magnificent, circa 1530's .

I agree that this looks hand hammered and somewhat old, and the seven circles on the bottom may be some kind of makers mark. However, I don't know enough about Islamic culture to have any idea what this is for, or how old it might be. Keep in mind, the fact that the brass it's made of is very thin is no reason to rule out (in itself) that it could be very old.

[Texasbadger]

Cant tell from the photos but does the ornamental top have rough cast edges on the inletted areas around the star, thats a giveaway for something manufactured to deceive in many cases, older items will probably have worn down and or been hand finished after the process.

[KC]

Just a comment....the "tarnishing" looks so "even".....as if it was possible treated?  But, what do I know!

[luxetveritas]

I was thinking the same thing, TexasBadger.

[cogar]

My guess is it was made from a flat sheet of soft brass, "spin" formed to its round shape and then as Regularjoe said, the design was added.