Anyone With Circus Knowledge? What Is This?

I picked this up at an antique shop in Waynesville OH, and the booth owner told me it was part of a mold used by Barnum & Bailey Circus to cast pedestals like the ones lions and tigers would stand on to perform. I’ve not been able to find any info other than what the booth owner was able to tell me. Does anyone have any insights?

 

Hi Jealous and WELCOME to ANTIQUERS!! To me it just looks like a wooden base to something from the Barnum and Bailey Circus....figure out the numbers and you might know specifically what!! BTW, next time you post images, the very TOP image says "INSERT EVERY IMAGE AS A FULL IMAGE".....click THAT and everyone can see it full size......easier on the eyes.....thank you!!! I also enlarged it a bit for the numbers......it looks like "10880" is STAMPED into a metal top rim.....Others should be along for more and probably better comments!!!

 

Thanks Aquitaine! It looks like I forgot to add a photo too. This is the underside. It’s got more going on here that may be helpful. Something threads in there. And it’s got that same ridge on the back as it does the front. And what’s interesting to me that I don’t know if you can see. It’s pieced together with a bunch of smaller pieces of wood. Not that the Circus was known for minimalism or simplicity, but it seems more intricate than necessary for a base to something.

 

Greetings, JealousBean! It does look too "flat" to be a mold for casting a "pedestal." I thought they were taller than this. Dimensions?

 

perhaps a couple different angles would help too. It’s not quite as flat as it looks in the pictures. It is 27” in Diameter, the opening in the middle is 13” in Diameter. The outer rim is 3” thick but it’s got these ridges on either side that bring the whole piece to 5” thick overall. and the inner rim is 1” thick.

 

Guess my only thought might have been maybe there was more than one to set like some entrance banners or posts in to (nothing too heavy!).....other than that..... sorry, I've got nuthin' left!!! Looks like there is/was some termite or powder post beetle activity!!!

 

as far as I can tell, no termites currently. But some of them I think might be termites holes, others look like small nail holes. Regardless of what this thing is, it’s been well used And (without damaging the piece further) will be turned into a coffee table with a glass top

 

Jealous, NOW, THAT'S being creative!!!! We'd LOVE to see it finished!!! If you don't mind, that is!!!!

 

Of course!! My dilemma right now is trying to figure out the leg situation. I want to be as minimally invasive as possible, and it’s an odd shape to work around. And it’s heavy so it needs to have a sturdy base so it doesn’t fall over. I have plenty of ideas, just not the budget to try all of them

 

Not a "mold" but a "pattern" that sand molds were made off of it to be poured in an Iron foundry, making a cast iron base. The 2 metal pieces that are inset on the pattern were used to pull it out of the mold - threaded rod were inserted into those for handels. The round pieces on the same side were for locating "risers" that fed the casting with metal as it cooled and shrank.

Edit: I would also think someone wrote "Barnum and Bailey Circus" on it for selling appeal.

 

Now that makes sense! Thank you! I wondered that myself about the “Barnum and Bailey Circus” written on it, I know the booth owner and he said it was in someone’s family for a while, and he picked it from a barn, so maybe just for labelling purposes on the Circus’s part? In any case, it’s still pretty cool.