Can someone tell me what this is?

[JoeyD87]

My mother bought this thing at an auction and she has it hanging in her front room, i cant for the life of me figure out what it is, and the auction house had no information either. I was just wondering if anyone had any idea as to what this thing is, its metal, but not sure what kind of metal. It hangs from the cieling yes, its roughly 2 foot long, from top to bottom. The ball on the bottom is hollow, im not sure the ball at the bottom actually belongs there, it looks like it should be up where the rest of the balls are.At the top theres a screw that unscrews and all of the balls come off.The chain is a big loop, you cant really see it in the picture, but its a loop.i got sme more pictures of it now.

[hosman321]

I've got nothin'. I bet it some totally obvious thing and I'll laugh when I didn't figure it out myself. The little ball that's on the chain...is it hollow? Like somethng goes in it?

[talesofthesevenseas]

Just how big is it? My first reaction was that it looks like a chatelaine, like the one in the photo below. These are small and worn on the belt and usually full of useful items. I'm mystified by the silver orbs! It's quite pretty though, whatever it is!

[luxetveritas]

Not sure about this one myself, but that's a wonderful example of a chatelaine, Tales! My favorite example is below:

[luxetveritas]

Does this hang from the ceiling? Looks to be in the picture.

[talesofthesevenseas]

It does now, but I don't think that was the original purpose!

[D&b antiques]

it's and english scent deodorizer. they were made in all shapes could have been used in a funeral home. odors had a bad way of showing up.

[talesofthesevenseas]

No kidding! That makes perfect sense! I never would have thought of that purpose. Good one D&B!

Lux that is a beautiful chatelaine! I've always admired these but they tend to be pretty in-demand and pricey, so I've never bought one. Who knows though, every now and then a deal comes along!

[luxetveritas]

Yes, you're right about that, Tales! I saw a 24k Victorian posy holder go for just $100 on Craigslist (easily a $700 piece), but I think the Chatelaine in the picture was sold for about $400 at auction.

As always, excellent assertation D&b. I've never seen one of these before, although the purpose makes perfect sense!

[KC]

I would tend to go along with D&b on the use for scents.

It could have held oils or potpourri.

Don't believe it was for incense tho'!