Featured Metal inlaid seed pod? Buttons

Like conkers but not. Hollowed out wood/pod of some sort.
Any thoughts on these please would be welcome.
Not really jewellery but close enough. Each about an inch across.
Stars are the same on both but one has a shield and one a heart.
Any significance or just inlaid buttons? Old or just trying to be?
Metal may be low grade silver but difficult to do a touchstone scrape without marking them.
That’s presuming they are buttons......
Thanks for looking

 

Strange, cool, and NICE!

 

Really nice, K. Maybe @DragonflyWink knows? I believe she collects buttons as well.

 

They look like Mucuna "sea beans"?

Or venta semillas de ojo de venado

 

Thankyou
They arrived with some jewellery as an unexpected extra in a pot with old jet and possibly vulcanite buttons- old black ones anyway!

 

Thankyou. They seem well made and a bit unusual which made me think I needed to do some research but I couldn't find anything similar. Possibly l just need the right search terms.

 

Off to google!

 

Hunhhh, can't recall seeing anything quite like them before, personally wouldn't think they're buttons, more like some sort of slide similar to what you'd find on a bolo tie (my button books are packed away). It's not a mucuna sea bean (we call them hamburgers around here), but could be some other type of sea bean or seed/nut (appears to be a fairly thick outer layer, if so) - have seen quite a few different natural materials with silver mountings, but no idea on these. They're definitely cool, and for what it's worth, I get a Spanish or Spanish Colonial feel, though they also remind me of the tiny shield and heart silver plaques sometimes found on Scottish hornware spoons (not that I think they're Scottish). Sorry I can't help...

~Cheryl

 

That was my first thought, my mother had a small Scottish curled horn powderhorn with one of those silver plaques.

 

Powderhorn or snuff mull?


https://www.google.com/search?q=snu...e8&ei=7CRZXrGdMc2kzwLz0aTgAQ&bih=754&biw=1536


~Cheryl

 

Thailand metal work.Same as tribal earrings I sold in about 1990

 

You're right a snuff mull. What was I thinking.

 

My Scottish hornware spoons showing a heart and three shields:



~Cheryl

 

Hi Ladybugx - welcome to the forums. Do you have some pics of similar, and can you identify the material and purpose for these items?

~Cheryl

 

Those are just awesome! What lovely condition!

Leslie