Found in upstate NY cast iron cats head?

[Antny]

Found in upstate NY cast iron cat's head?

Found in upstate NY, cast iron cat's head. Heavy cast iron. Weighs 4 lbs. Has a piece of wood inside, with a hole in it. There is a screw on top of the head, that connects to the piece of wood. The bottom has 2 "tabs" that make me think that it might have been attached to a body?

 

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[bigfoot1]

cool find...here are some ideas.......

 

[littleneckhalfshell]

what is the diameter of the base? I would guess it was a gate post topper

 

[Antny]

what is the diameter of the base? I would guess it was a gate post topper

It's 3 3/4"

 

[Antny]

cool find...here are some ideas..View attachment 1003410...View attachment 1003412..View attachment 1003413

The one with the fireplace looks good. I thought it could be a string holder too.

 

[nhbenz]

I'm not sure andirons (fireplace thingies) would be a good place to have used a chunk of wood inside? It may not catch on fire, but may split from the heat? I see that cat doorstops were common enough, but the ones I find are one solid piece construction. Hmmm....
Edit: just looked again at the size, and boy that's large... Gate post topper or fountain piece seems along the right scale. Something more likely for use outside.

 

[Bramblefind]

Maybe this?

Antiques Council - Cast-iron String Holder

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD]Description:[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 3"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 4"]Painted cast-iron string holder in the form of a cats head with a red bow collar.
American, c.1880
5.75"h x 5"w x 5"d

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[nhbenz]

That's certainly a match, well done Bramblefind. Where does the string get dispensed on these? I'd have expected out of their mouths, but don't see a hole. Maybe there was a base that had an opening?