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Interesting Pewter(?) Relic from Old House Site - Any Ideas?

E

Erik in NJ

New member
It cleaned up well with a brass brush - lots of nice intricate detail on it. Any idea what it was used for. The cone shaped end is threaded and it's about 4" - 5" long. Thanks for looking
 
hi erik. it looks like a screw - on piece to a hall tree [coat rack?] that you hang coats and other clothes on. i've found some similar pieces, but nothin' that purty! cool find, erik. hh,
 
Hey Erik, neat piece.

Just curious, what is on the bottom of the bell-shaped end? Anything in there? Iron, etc?

Very interesting piece, bud

Richard
 
Hi Richard! It's actually hollow and the inside walls are threaded - diffilcult for me to scan it in that orientation. Thanks for the compliment on it.
 
Erik, this piece still intrigues me. I thought Gray Ghost's guess at it was prettty close. And GG may still be right.

But, probably in spite of the threads, I'm leaning toward a wax seal. How long is the piece, overall? It looks like silver-plated brass.

In these sites on the east coast, these relics can date back to the very earliest days of this country. The design of this piece implies it wasn't made yesterday, that's for certain!

Richard
 
Hi Richard, I appreciate you looking further into it. I can put my hands on a ruler at the moment, but it's approx. 4" - 4-1/" long....fits pretty nicely in your hand. Could various seals have been threaded into the bottom? The level of detail is amazing - even the texture of the snakes/dragons skin you can see the discrete scales with a loupe - tiny as they are. I'll PM you more precise measurements soon. Still pulling weird and interesting relics from the other homestead - wish you were here to detect it with me as this place seems to have a very colorful history....take a look at the other relics on the Minelab Explorer forum. Regards, Erik
 
Possibly a decorative lamp finial, to hold a glass shade or globe in place. Maybe. Maybe not. Would you say it has course or fine threads?
 
I found virtually the same gadget a couple of says ago beneath a ball diamond that had just had the sod scraped off. Mine is a little more decorative with bead like blobs on the loop end and a twist in the shaft but it has the same flared end with a coarse tread inside.I was thinking a snuffer but a Google image search shows nothing looking like that, not even remotely resembling that! Pewter might be a little soft for a coat hook like device but it could be another type of decoration for something. I will try and get a picture up in a few days.

Other stuff I found under the field where a lead fishing "jigger" of an old style and some brass lamp parts from the 1920s (stamped made in USA) and a lot of iron junk.

I had a strange feeling before opening this thread that your object might be similar to mine, weird.

HH

1859
 
Hi 1859!

I showed it to a detectorist friend of mine last night and he seemed to think that it was a finial (or end-piece) to an iron curtain rod (there would have been a matching set). Not sure that he knows what he's talking about, but it would explain the threaded end (to attach to the rod), the soft metal (just for decoration), and the wide end (stop the curtain from coming off). Would very much like to see a picture when you get a chance. Thanks, Erik
 
n/t
 
As you can see my "object" has a lot of beads on it. The are fragile and break off easily. I think yours might have been broken or bent into the heart shape, it looks better that way than in a loop anyway. These are obviously related and must serve the same decorative purpose. I was able to straighten the bend out of mine with just a little force and no tools.

So what are they?

HH

1859
 
Yours looks even older than mine, same coarse threads on the inside of the open end. Mine is also on the soft side and I notice that both of them are very finely detailed. Beautiful find - I hope we can find out what they are. As I mentioned a detectorist friend of mind said it was an end finial for an iron curtain rod, but I'm not sure if this is correct. Seems plausible though. Thanks for the picture!
 
n/t
 
I am thinking it is from a lamp also but a bit older than one needing a shade. Could it possibly be the knob used to adjust a kerosene lamp wick????
 
Hi Gordy, Thanks for the post. That was also one of my initial thoughts that it was some sort of know. 1859's below looks like it's been twisted so that would seem indicative of it being used to turn something. An adjuster for a wick is an interesting possibility. Not sure how it would stay threaded on when turned in the counter clockwise direction. But I'll bet you are very close. Regards, Erik
 
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