✅ SOLVED Candle snuffer or sink stopper?

[WHADIFIND]

I think I'm inclined toward the former.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

HH!

 

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[Breezie]

It seems kind of "beefy" to be an incense burner, but who knows. Also what purpose would that deep lip serve? It looks like it is meant to contain spills of some kind.

Edited to remove photo.

Incense burners come/came in all different sizes and shapes. The cap on this one is dome-shaped much like WhatDiFind's. Check out this one for a 'beefy' burner. Breezie

 

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[WHADIFIND]

Incense burners come/came in all different sizes and shapes. The cap on this one is dome-shaped much like WhatDiFind's. Check out this one for a 'beefy' burner. Breezie

View attachment 717543

Ya know? At this point, we may never actually know. This is as close a match as anything I've seen. I'm gonna just consider this as the solution. If I get any more evidence, maybe, we can revisit.

Thanks Breezie and everyone else trying to help.

Happy New Year!

HH!

 

[Archeodeb]

Ya know? At this point, we may never actually know. This is as close a match as anything I've seen. I'm gonna just consider this as the solution. If I get any more evidence, maybe, we can revisit.

Thanks Breezie and everyone else trying to help.

Happy New Year!

HH!

Don't give up so quickly. The incense burner top has merit but does not explain many of the obvious attributes of this artifact. I still see NO reason for that single hole (as opposed to a teapot lid which nearly always has a single hole for steam) and the deep lip on the edge would be completely senseless for an incense burner, but would make sense for catching liquid spilled from an overheated teapot. Go look at images for teapots -- especially antique teapots, but not always -- and you will see what I mean about the hole. I still haven't found an incense burner with one hole.

 

[Breezie]

Don't give up so quickly. The incense burner top has merit but does not explain many of the obvious attributes of this artifact. I still see NO reason for that single hole (as opposed to a teapot lid which nearly always has a single hole for steam) The entire piece is only 1 3/4 inches in diameter, which seems too small for a tea pot. This item could have been a LID for the incense burner. Some burners had no holes in the lid, and all of the holes were in the base portion. See 1st pic. and the deep lip on the edge would be completely senseless for an incense burner, If this item were not a lid, it could have been a small, independent incense burner, and the hole would have held a single stick of incense and the large lip would catch the ashes. See 2nd pic. but would make sense for catching liquid spilled from an overheated teapot. Go look at images for teapots -- especially antique teapots , Again, I think 1 3/4 inches is too small of a lid for a tea pot. but not always -- and you will see what I mean about the hole. I still haven't found an incense burner with one hole. We may never find out exactly what this piece is, but ID-ing mystery items is very much like doing genealogy research, you have to go with the most logical answer. This item may not have anything to do with incense, but to me it seemed appropriate. Breezie

 

[Archeodeb]

We will have to agree to disagree, since I still see no good evidence to alter my opinion. (I have seen some very small teapot lids.) I agree the most logical answer is usually correct, (Occam's razor) but I do not see the "logic" in thinking it is an incense burner and not something else. I think this is still a matter of opinion and guesswork.

 

[WHADIFIND]

My apologies folks! I had figured this one as solved as it was going to get and forgot to watch the thread. (blush)

Since there are still some doubts, I've cleaned this up a bit more and took some new pictures. Hopefully, the new information will define this one more completely.

First of all, there was a scratched edge on it that I hadn't noticed before. It seems to confirm my suspicion that it's brass. At least, the shiny part is yellow.



Also, if you see it in person, it's easy to see that there is a sort of flattened spot on the flange. It's hard for me to get it to show up on my poor camera. Where the light is shining brightest, is the spot. I don't know if it's by design or had just been stepped on.



This is a close up of the little hole in it.



And this is a view of the very top.



This, is a view looking up into the piece from the bottom. Unless my eyes deceive me, that looks like a piece of iron rust up in the very center.



And, finally, hopefully, the most useful piece of identification I found was a mark on the side. I'm guessing it is a maker's mark as it's only on one place and not like it's part of a design. I only found it after toothpicking some corrosion off the spot.



My thanks to all the people who have taken time from their busy lives to figure this out! It is appreciated!

Happy New Year!

 

[WHADIFIND]

For those who were following, I've added more pics and info.

Thanks to everyone for all the help!

HH!

 

[Paleopilot]

Wow! how cool. The picture of the little hole shows what looks to be a coating of lime? That would be a huge clue.

 

[dieselram94]

Kind of looks like that coating of lime is deposited here and there all over it? could be I am just seeing things though.

Wow! how cool. The picture of the little hole shows what looks to be a coating of lime? That would be a huge clue.

 

[Paleopilot]

Kind of looks like that coating of lime is deposited here and there all over it? could be I am just seeing things though.

Well, if it is indeed a lime deposit, it could only have occured from steam. It would have to be a boiler lid then.

 

[Breezie]

Well, if it is indeed a lime deposit, it could only have occurred from steam. It would have to be a boiler lid then.

Water can also cause white deposits on brass, especially hard water with calcium, which is often seen on bathroom shower heads and/or faucets. Scroll up and look at the last small brass incense burner I posted; it has white deposits in various places on it.

As far as it being a lid to a teapot, I'm having a hard time with the fact it is only 1 3/4 inches in diameter, plus it doesn't have an inner lip to hold it onto a pot. Take out a ruler, measure 1 3/4 inches and imagine something that small on top of a boiling pot sitting on a stove eye.

Breezie

 

[WHADIFIND]

Water can also cause white deposits on brass, especially hard water with calcium, which is often seen on bathroom shower heads and/or faucets. Scroll up and look at the last small brass incense burner I posted; it has white deposits in various places on it.

As far as it being a lid to a teapot, I'm having a hard time with the fact it is only 1 3/4 inches in diameter, plus it doesn't have an inner lip to hold it onto a pot. Take out a ruler, measure 1 3/4 inches and imagine something that small on top of a boiling pot sitting on a stove eye.

Breezie

Is it possible that it could have gone to some sort of ornate old bathtub? I was envisioning a plug with maybe a chain of some sort? I know, the hole doesn't seem to fit. Neither does that bit of iron rust that appears to be up in the center of the inside. I'm confused and conflicted.

 

[Archeodeb]

Water can also cause white deposits on brass, especially hard water with calcium, which is often seen on bathroom shower heads and/or faucets. Scroll up and look at the last small brass incense burner I posted; it has white deposits in various places on it.

As far as it being a lid to a teapot, I'm having a hard time with the fact it is only 1 3/4 inches in diameter, plus it doesn't have an inner lip to hold it onto a pot. Take out a ruler, measure 1 3/4 inches and imagine something that small on top of a boiling pot sitting on a stove eye.

Breezie

That is a good point about the diameter. It would be tough to get your hand down in there to clean it. On the other hand, it may not have been necessary -- could have been cleaned in other ways, I suppose. I think steam or water is involved though -- still wondering about the purpose behind the deep lip if not to catch something like water escaping through that hole. I guess it could also catch ashes if it was an incense burner, but that still doesn't feel quite right either for some reason (although you may be correct). I wonder if it could have been part of something larger at one time. This is a real puzzler.

Just a thought, but maybe we are looking at it upside down. Could it have been part of an electric light/chandelier and the "vent hole" a place for wires to go through? Except it doesn't look much like that on the inside and there are no apparent attachment areas for the rest of it. Any other reasons to have a hole in something like that except for liquid to escape of something to be threaded through it? Oh, well -- I'm stumped for now.

 

[Breezie]

Whadifind, Is the residue in the top of the lid black as shown in the pic below? After thinking about the lime/calcium build-up, I did some research on incense deposits. Here is an excerpt about the black residue that builds up on brass from incense. I only posted part of it, but the reminder can be found on the website:

As a former Sacristan for over eleven years I must say that I have seen my fair share
of hard to clean Thuribles. I have found that the "type" of incense used plays a major role
on just how sooty and caked on carbon or ("black cupric oxide") can build up on the inside
top half of the Thurible. No doubt cleaning a Thurible can be an arduous job especially if
their care goes overlooked. Most Thuribles have a thin high heat resistant clear lacquer
sprayed over the outside surface of the brass to keep it from tarnishing. . . .. .
Sacristan tools of the trade: cleaning the Thurible - Catholic Answers Forums

Could this be the same black residue in your lid?



Breezie

 

[Archeodeb]

Just had another thought on this. It occurred to me that what we are all assuming is lime, may in fact be the remains of a porcelain coating that has long since worn or chipped away.

 

[Breezie]

That is a good point about the diameter. It would be tough to get your hand down in there to clean it. On the other hand, it may not have been necessary -- could have been cleaned in other ways, I suppose. I think steam or water is involved though -- still wondering about the purpose behind the deep lip if not to catch something like water escaping through that hole. I guess it could also catch ashes if it was an incense burner, but that still doesn't feel quite right either for some reason (although you may be correct). I wonder if it could have been part of something larger at one time. This is a real puzzler.

Just a thought, but maybe we are looking at it upside down. Could it have been part of an electric light/chandelier and the "vent hole" a place for wires to go through? Except it doesn't look much like that on the inside and there are no apparent attachment areas for the rest of it. Any other reasons to have a hole in something like that except for liquid to escape of something to be threaded through it? Oh, well -- I'm stumped for now.

If it is a tea pot lid, it's a decorative one like those made in India and other far East counties. But that still doesn't explain the hole in the lid . . . . Unless the tea or whatever was poured into the pot after it was cooked. Breezie

 

[WHADIFIND]

Whadifind, Is the residue in the top of the lid black as shown in the pic below?

Well, it's really not black, per se. More like the greenish coloring of the piece, only darker. That make sense?

I'm still wondering about that little spot of iron rust. Could it have been part of some sort of wind chime?





Think that's a trademark?

 

[Archeodeb]

I suddenly had a thought. Maybe this is something like the cover to an old-fashioned butter dish or something similar. Possibly something to keep food hot (with the vent hole to let steam escape, and maybe the lip to hold small coals or something -- or possibly for ice? I know I am reaching, but I just got the idea this may have had a specialized culinary use. Any gourmet cooks out there? (Not me!)

I found a few pics of butter dishes (the vent hole is problematic on these, but to get your creative juices flowing, these are a nice starting point.)


Just had another thought on this. It occurred to me that what we are all assuming is lime, may in fact be the remains of a porcelain coating that has long since worn or chipped away.

 

[Breezie]

Well, it's really not black, per se. More like the greenish coloring of the piece, only darker. That make sense?

I'm still wondering about that little spot of iron rust. Could it have been part of some sort of wind chime?



Think that's a trademark?

The iron rust is from the screw/bold that is attaching the small round knob.

I don't think it is a wind chime because it has the off-centered hole. The hole was put there for a purpose.

Deb, yes it does look like a lid to a butter dish, but they don't have a hole in the lid.

Breezie

Deb,

 

[Archeodeb]

Deb, yes it does look like a lid to a butter dish, but they don't have a hole in the lid.

Yes, that is what is puzzling me and making me think it may be some sort of individual serving dish -- a teeny chafing dish or ramekin lid?