French Antique Guessing Game

French antique guessing game. 

The Rules:

In the comment section, or on Facebook, or by email share your guess. 

The first person to correctly guess what it is wins a prize (this time a several 1800s iron keys).

Also the person I deem who has the most creative/original response wins a prize too (keys as well.)

You can guess as often as you like.

 

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Object is made of silver.

8 x 5 inches in size.

1800s

What is it?

I'll announce the winners tomorrow.

Comments

[Lana Kloch]

what an unusual object from the 18th century. is it a tea strainer? it looks like the plates have holes in them and the lid screws on..

taking this a step further, is it a instant coffee maker for one? i can't wait to find out. thanks for providing these wonderful puzzles, corey.

[Susan]

Servants bell or call bell?

[LIl]

A press for Lemons or other citrus.

[Arlena]

I think it looks like a chime of some sort. It looks like an old door chime, but since it stands on it's feet, it must be for tabletop, perhaps to call a servant....It's lovely!

[Michele]

The was a decorative piece that stayed in a bathroom or outshouse. The use - in the case there was an emergency, you rang this piece and HELP came immediately. Same as if you were ill in bed and needed to call a 'servant' - this held the elegance!
Michele

[ChicagoSheila]

It is a coffee press. However, it is on its side so you can drip the coffee into your coffee cup while you are still lying in bed.

[Susan young]

It's a FrenchPress for coffee, for travelers to take
On board moving ships, trains,etc.
one like it was featured in the Titanic exhibition a few years back.

[Ed in Willows]

Orange juicer

[Jennifer]

My guess is fruit press of some sort as well. It's beautiful.

[marlis]

It's a french torture device for unruly husbands... nuff said :-) xo marlis

[jend'isère]

Nutmeg grinder? The fine powder can then be sprinkled on a cup of teaor into a apperitf wine, added to chantilly for for a future Starbuck creation or brushed into a powder to relieve dental agony.

[Franca Bollo]

Franca's thinking string theory. String dispenser. Or string winder/ball maker where the end of the string is inserted through the base and tied to the stem. The two halves are screwed back together and the leaves at the top are turned, winding the string around the stem. Regardless, I want this. Combien?

[Georgie Steeds]

An extremely beautiful, elegant and complicated egg timer perhaps?

[French la Vie]

Hi Franca

Sorry, I didn't buy it as it cost $250.

C

[Franca Bollo]

Le poop.

[Anne]

I think Ed is on the right track but since it is so large I'll guess that it is a grapefruit juicer.

Whatever it is, it is just gorgeous. I don't think my guess is correct as whatever was in the thing would be leaking out and I think citrus juice would damage the sterling.

[Toni]

I think the correct answer has already been listed, so I am going to say it's an egg coddler!

[stanna Rysdam]

Hi I think it is a door bell. Thanks, Stanna

[email protected]

[LieseLotte]

...a kind of alarm clock ?
... used for mending stockings ?
... scaring the mouse out of its hole ?
... for grinding sugar ?
... for making people guess silly purposes ?

[Patti]

how about a bicycle bell?!

[Heather]

Portable tea or coffee press. With a handy cap so as not to drip your coffee or tea on the table cloth.

[Kathie B]

A press for extruding cake icing.

[Donna B]

I say ditto on a bicycle bell. It looks like a highly ornate version of the one I took apart as a kid.

[Donna B]

Bicycle siren to be more precise. Mine had a chain attached to knobby bits.

[Kathy]

I think it is a coffee maker / press and it is just beautiful!

Kathy

[Zosia]

I think it's some kind of a grinder:
coffee grinder
tobacco grinder
lavender grinder
pomegranate seed grinder
a herb grinder

a vengeance grinder: to grind the heart (or other bits) of an unfaithful lover to painful pieces ;-)

[Franca Bollo]

Or Play Doh.

[Massilianana]

It is a device for Les Bad Dreams : you seen, it is a very refined object with two budding legs to allow it to stand discretely yet elegantly on your night table. You leave it open, you sleep and in case you have a bad dream, the silver device captures it. In the morning, all you have to do is to screw the device very tightly then you open it and what do you get ? A very flat and transparent disc that you can dispose of by throwing it away through your opened window, the wind will catch it and send it far far away ! C'est simple, non ?

[christine allen]

A pepper grinder.

[momof5]

Definitely a bell to call the servants.

[Brian Harrison]

It is a garlic press! Brian Harrison

Or an expresso bean press Wendy Harrison

[dede]

It's an extruder for anything you want to extrude, or anything that needs an extreme extruding. xox
dede

[martina]

It was for ladies who performed at Le Moulin Rouge..a pasty press. It pressed the fine fabric "coverings" so there were no wrinkles and they blended in with the bare skin when applied.

Or it was a tea press

[Tracy A.]

Pencil sharpener!

[Reets]

French is not called the romance language for nothing. Without a doubt this object is one of those French Love Letter Pulverizers.
Everyone knows that all of the French write love letters every single day.
They pick up their pen and pour themselves onto paper in a torrid flurry of passion. Before the envelope is sealed . . . though . . . they are overwhelmed with a gale of completely updated emotions to which they, because they are French, must succumb. This rendering their fervent love message utterly obsolete. To make way for the new, the letter is pressed, not without tenderness, into the Pulverizer. The screw you see there at the top, is turned and churned until it goes no more. Old thoughts crumbled. Just dust now.
A satisfied sigh. The moment freed up. A search for the pen.
And on it goes.
I have not seen one of those in so long. That is a nice one.

[pattyg]

It's a pepper grinder!

[Kieren Dutcher]

I think it's a doorbell. the bell is on the inside, hole cut in door, the leaves? twisty part is on the outside for visitors to turn...

[Marilyn in Chico, Ca]

I'm sure those who said it's an antique coffee press are correct. It's beautifully made ! It looks like it could double as a thermos.

[Ann]

It looks like part of a fishing rod the reel part. Would be able to catch big fish with that size. Now you need a sign that says "Gone Fishing".

[christine allen]

Pastry decorator ...

[Carol]

Yep, its a doorbell. I have one on my back door but not nearly as charming as this one. You drill a hole thru the door and mount the bell on one side and the twisty thing on the other. Nice to use when you don't have an electrician in the family. However if you get a visitor who is an over zealous twister it will wake the dead !

[paulaSinnewmexico]

how about a nut cracker?

[Diogenes]

Perhaps an ice crusher for cocktails?

[Diogenes]

Danny thinks it is a tube for decorating cakes - the icing is squeezed through the hole.

Or it could be for making fancy mashed potatoes....

[Marilyn]

A bicycle bell! I just know I have got this one right, right?

[Mahala]

A French press!

[Kim]

I really think its a doorbell but since that is listed - gonna say a lemon squeezer.

[Liz in Oregon]

Oh, that's an airplane for a pig-shaped salt shaker, Corey. xxoo

[Claudia]

It's an alarm-clock for 18th century foster mothers. Just look at the part that can be screwed off: doesn't it remind of... a boob? This device was meant to admonish the foster mother to breast feed the child at regular intervals ;-)

[Judi]

It's a very very special nutcracker. Only for acorns, as it is shaped like one.

Then again, maybe not....but whatever it is ,I want it :-)

[Alicia]

A kitchen timer?

[France Forever 24/7]

Pepper or salt grinder (?)

[Karen Mitcham-Stoeckleyt]

Most possibly it is a press for tobaccco (or chew) so refined gentlemen can have small discs of tobacco in their pocket for rollling into cigarettes. Alternatively it just might be a tableside container for dispensing sugar into tea along with a contained bit of lemon. None the less it is charming and probably takes hours to fill and dispense after one has applied for a special card and registered at the Marie and waited 2 months for a license to operate and then told a copy of their paid tax receipt must be submitted and a new survey accomplished to verify the actual plot number of the residence, prior to there beng a placque attached near the front door authorizing the ownership and use of such a device.
This from a relatively new resident of Provence!

[Lorelei]

This is such a lovely piece!! I wonder if it is used to squeeze lemons or limes? perhaps spices such as nutmeg? or lavender for sachets? Perhaps Madam made a threat to her beloved that she would use it if he stepped out of line?

[Diana]

It is a bell for the door? Lovely as usual....

[Sallie]

It's to wring out one's dainties before hanging them to dry.

[Vicki Malignaggi]

Hello. Is it a Citrus Press, Lemons, Limes, etc??? Happy Holidays

[Helen]

Certainly a beautiful portable bell to place in one's dressing room or bedroom. This has been owned by a gracious lady, used when requiring her maid or dresser and upon a very gentle turn on the handle a secret message for her gentleman to come hither...

[Nancy from Mass]

I think it's an old fashioned door bell. It fits inside a hole that you drill in the door and you turn the 'key' and it rings the bell inside the house. I grew up in a house that was over 200 years old and we had the same type of door bell at the front door. I LOVED that door bell!!!

[Rae]

How about an egg timer, or at the very least a timer of some sort for the kitchen. It is clearly a very special piece, I just love it and want one. xx Rae

[Dd]

A spice grinder

[Leigh NZ]

I think its for pressing olives for fresh olive oil at the table.

[Leigh NZ]

On second thoughts...It's a press and has lemon shaped leaves on the screw part and is also shaped like a lemon complete with the wee bump at the base for the juice to flow from, so could well be a lemon press to extract lemon juice.

[Nancy Hopkins]

It is a nut cracker !

[Nancy Hopkins]

or a citrus press

[Leigh NZ]

Further to my last entry to be more specific this lemon press is highly decorative so would have sat on a dining table for each individual to pick up and with a turn of the screw top(leaves)lemon juice would be dispensed onto their fish dish or whatever.

[Casual Cottage Chic]

I think you use this to put your Euro/$$ paper money in the cup, screw it on and turn the leaves to press all you can out of your money!!!! We need to squeeze every little bit we can get our of our dollar/Euro these days :-)

[Chris Wittmann]

Is it for pressing out icing for cake decorating?

[[email protected]]

It is beautiful! It's a conversation piece! It's gets everyone thinking. The evidence is in the comments, I mean look at all the replies that are posted! Yes, definitely a conversation piece!

[Marcia Miner]

It rests on the table to the right of the hostess. At the end of dinner the hostess rises and gracious tells the guests that coffee and brandy will be served in the drawing room. When they have all left the room she turns the handle that rings a bell for the kitchen help to come and clear the table. She then hands the bell to the butler and tells him to tell the cook the dinner was satisfactory, but the pheasant was a bit too pink.

[kim]

Possibly a garlic press or a pepper grinder

[peggy braswell]

This of course is a lemon press-it sits on a beautifully set table in front of each guest(8). As each guest puts their monogrammed napkin in their lap, they notice the lovely lemon press. Since we are serving fish, everyone uses the lemon press over their dinner. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

[Lil]

Just found something like it at
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/a-victorian-silver-plated-metal-lemon-squeezer-5193413-details.aspx
Victorian silver plated lemon squeezer! ($725!)

[tammigirl]

I can't believe nobody knows what this is! Why, everyone in our family recognizes it instantly. It's a fairy-copter.

[Chris]

I'd say it's a nutmeg grinder.

[Teddee Grace]

Looks like a doorbell to me.

[marina]

doorbell for sure

[Jenna]

A French press? That would be fitting, wouldn't it, lol.

[Ali]

This is a grapefruit press

[Ali]

This is from the front counter of Coco Chanel's millinery. It was given to her by the queen of Sweden after Mademoiselle Chanel created a lovely straw chapeau for her to wear at the opening of the polo season of 1902. It was accented with Chanel's signature black grosgrain ribbon and a simple pink fabric flower placed provocatively to draw attention to the queen's arctic blue eyes.

[diane - florida]

an 1896 Arte Nouveau decompression chamber for deep water dwelling exotic tropical fish that had never before survived being brought to the surface and exhibited.

[diane - florida]

very early Victorian Breast pump for ladies of gentle breeding who, without the services of a wet nurse, were able to attend society functions while knowing that their infant's feedings were covered.

[Kate M]

A juicer, maybe for lemons!

[Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen]

I know it's been said before, but my money is on the doorbell.
Sam

[Wendy Shippee]

I think it is a grinder. It could have been used for salt, pepper or sugar.

[[email protected]]

It was once used to put one's hopes and dreams in for the upcoming year, sealed tight until the end of the following year-New Years Eve. Hopefully, all the hopes and dreams would have come true and if not, then they would try again for the new year!

[Bonnie schulte]

This is a doorbell. My aunt and uncle who lived in the twin cities, had one just like this