What was this brass item used for?

I came across this unusual item in Scotland and bought it because I would like to learn. I have come across many brass and copper coal buckets etc but I can find nothing online like it.

It clearly has been purpose built, rather than adapted. The metal liner/incinerator section is a perfect fit, as is the hole in both sections, through which I presume some sort of fire was lit. I also believe the heavy lid to be original.

For a household incinerator it seems rather small. For a household chestnut roaster it seems rather large. Might it have been used by a chestnut seller maybe?

Never seen anything like it!

 

Meat smoker?

 

AI says:

AI Overview

• This antique brass coal bin features a removable lid with a small knob and distinctive shell-shaped ring handles.
• Dating typically to the Edwardian period (circa 1910), these bins were used to store coal or logs by a fireplace.
• The item often includes a tin liner to contain coal residue and has a desirable aged patina.
• Similar decorative brass coal bins have been listed for sale ranging from approximately $400 to over $1,000 depending on condition and provenance.

This information was backed up by showing several of these for sale around the 'net.

(FYI, I grabbed your photo, dragged it into Google Images and received this result).

 

The ones Google is showing me, don't have that hole. Are you getting other pics?

 

It does appear to be a coal scuttle. And the internet says the side "hole" was designed to hold a scoop. Would you be kind enough to post a photograph of this element from both the interior and the exterior? And are there any markings?

Debora

 

Yes, I saw pics of many but just a few with the side hole. But this is weird, I clicked on the page from my History and received a totally different result. I just deleted the photo but I can get it again and see what happens.

 

A coal scuttle with a grill at the bottom of the bucket doesn't seem too practical, as all small bits would fall through it, and you would end up having to clean that, and with the hole on the side, particles would probably end up on your kitchen floor, resulting in more cleaning work.

 

Ash also got dumped down the outhouse to keep the smell down and the bugs out, at least on farms here in the US.