Metal porcelain thing??? Please help.. No one I've asked seems to know

[cowsaretrippy]

Found this on the edge of a creek in PA. Can't seem to figure out what it is. .. looks like the top may have been porcelain and there's some sort of wiring underneath that's visible where it is broken .

What it is?

 

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[villival]

An iron?

 

[ripvanb]

Some kind of skillet?

 

[firemanphob]

could it be a rest for a hot iron?

 

[50bmg]

Iron resting plate

 

[Tony in SC]

It's called a trivet.

could it be a rest for a hot iron?

 

[Kray Gelder]

Not sure what it is, but looking closely at the last pic, you can clearly see the electric heating elements, so it's some kind of warmer.

 

[Reanm8er]

Perhaps an electrical heater for an old time flatiron?

 

[Reanm8er]

I guess it would be the earliest version of an electric iron. It could have been a universal base that a standard iron would fit on. The legs, probably three, kept the heating element off the surface it was setting on. With the element on the bottom it insured that the entire base would absorb the heat from it. I don't know how to figure it from the remnants visible but it could have been made for DC power as in the Delco plant system. A bank of batteries charged by either a gasoline engine, a wind mill or waterwheel. predates the modern AC power system.

 

[A2coins]

That's an Iron for sure

 

[Tony in SC]

I still say half of a broken trivet for a sad iron.

 

[nhbenz]

It looks like there’s a word or two in the middle of the side with the parallel lines on it... any possibility of cleaning it up to see if it becomes more legible?