Posted on 11/27/2007 9:57:30 AM PST by Grit
I am calling on the knowledgeable FR Community to help identify an object that has me baffled.
This silver doohickey was unearthed recently with the help of a metal detector by a friend of mine.
It is 2 3/4 in tall X 1 1/4 in wide.
It has a bracket on the back that is deep enough to accept maybe a leather strap and on the bottom - something is missing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Maybe some sort of a clasp? That means the treasure chest is nearby!
The smart-aleck answers are half the fun. :)
Looks like part of a set of door knockers.
(Thank you herr docktor!)
Perhaps some sort of military medal or insignia?
It’s a silver doohickey.
I saw one of those once, we were excavating in Iran back in ‘77. Whatever you do, do not let moon-light shine on it.
First pic looks like part of a door knocker.
not a match but gives clues
Must be a hit with the ladies.
A scarf ring/ornament? We used to wear ornaments like that in the fifties. The ornament holds the two ends of the scarf together something like a bolo tie that men used to wear around their necks. The ornaments could be slid up or down depending on where one wanted the ornament to ride.
Are you sure it’s silver. It should have been almost black unless you polished it.
The Nawab had never been defeated in battle, and throughout Bengal his military prowess was attributed to a golden clasp used by the Nawab to secure his turban, in the shape of a roaring lion.
The British force was led by Col. Robert Clive, later the 1st Baronet Clive of Plassey, who sent a secret communication to Mir Jafar, a top commander of the Nawab's troops. Clive promised Mir Jafar the nawabship for himself if only he would abandon the Nawab and the French and come over to the British side, to which Mir Jafar agreed.
On June 23, 1757, the two armies met at Plassey. The skies were covered with dark clouds and a heavy rain fell.
During a pause in the rain, Clive ordered an attack. Mir Jafar's troops left the field, and the Nawab's remaining troops became disheartened, and strove to see the person of the Nawab, believing that if a fighter would only see a glint of the golden turban clasp of the Nawab, that he would become invincible. Alas, the heavy cloud cover obscured the sun's rays and the bright gold could not be seen by the Nawab's troops, who went on to defeat.
After the battle, Mir Jafar plucked the golden clasp from the turban of the defeated Nawab and presented it to Clive, designating him the "Lord of Bengal."
Mir Jafar presenting the Golden Clasp of Bengal to Lord Clive
To conceal the true value of the object, Lord Clive had the golden turban clasp covered uniformly with a very thin veneer of tin. Nevertheless, on his return to England, his ship was overtaken by pirates, who ransacked it of everything of value and set the passengers and crew adrift in a rowboat. They were later spotted by a passing ship and saved.
However, the Golden Clasp of Bengal was never to be seen again.
Yeah. At least, thank the Lord, it doesn't look like Hillary.
This was suggested by someone offline. The slides seem too narrow to allow much fabric through.
Are you sure it’s silver. It should have been almost black unless you polished it.
Not sure but it was polished.
It looks like real silver to me, albeit polished/clean/fresh. (I’m a coin collector.)
Not the “wrong edge”; anything goes in jewelry. It is, after all, for show.
When I saw those fractures I thought of broken solder joints, which may have held a chain or more dangling from the bottom. I have brooches like this in the modern day.
heh... I was expecting a pic of Helen Thomas.
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