Please tell me what I found and where they are from!

Very unusual might be copper, 3 piece set. Everything seems to be hand hammered and hand made. I bought them at Goodwill but have no clue if they are valuable or where they came from. I have 2 containers with handles and spouts. Two have Seated figue with leaf headdress on and the other has a geometric circle design on the sides. They appear to be Really old. All have handmade S hook chains attaching the lid to the container. Two have the face design pictured with horns and a tongue sticking out on the lids.

 

Interesting pieces! Can you post a few more pictures showing the items from the sides, the base, and perhaps with the lids off showing the inside?

Also - how big are they? And approximate weight?

 

Agreed, very interesting pieces! And do add measurement/approx weight as Aaron suggested.

One last thing, helpful if you go back and edit the post to put the images at "FULL IMAGE" so they appear in the body of the text. Easier for some folks to see.

 

I will get size, weight and more pics in the morning and update the post. I did manage to get the pics to full size. Thanks for the advice!

 

On your post they are not full size. If you don’t see this in time to edit, you must check the box near your photos that says show all photos full size. Not a big deal!!

 

Welcome to the forum Trashtreasureorjunk.
Could we see pictures of the sides? Pretty please?
As well-known member komokwa would say: "help us to help you".

So far I see a mix of village style Indo-Persian and tribal. I hope the sides will reveal more of the origin.

 

The containers are all just above or below 4” high to the rim of eac container. They are all between 4.5” for the plain lid and 5” & 5.5” for the face lids. Here are more pics of the containers. Would they have been painted at one time. Why is the so much pink and other colors? In some places the metal is very bright like brass. Is that just where the metals didn’t mix well or did someone attempt repairs?

 

With those Shou symbols (for longevity) there is some Chinese influence as well.
Together with the Persian-inspired shape and the almost Shamanic figures, I would say Central Asia. Maybe village Uyghur?

The colours, pigments from a ceremony maybe?

 

neato

 

Hi and WELCOME to the site, @Trashtreasureorjunk!!!! Interesting pieces, but I'm no good at judging age on these types of pieces!! Happy hunting though!!

 

What makes these interesting are the what is shown in the initial photo thumbnails -- the slightly grotesque or animal face on the lids.

I have zero idea. Not American at least. Middle Eastern?

For all I know they could have been tourist items, but maybe something more interesting.

Kind of a hard item to ID. I would have picked these up at the thrift as well for the unusual lids. I would keep researching.

 

Do you think I should look for an expert to help me see if they are valuable? Do you think they are really old? I don’t really want to keep them - they just looked so unusual and old I figured they could be worth something. I could always put them on ebay and see what they would fetch that way I suppose but that is probably not the best way since people can’t hold it and see every detail before they buy. Any recommendations on who to consult? My gut says these things are authentically aged, and they look like they have been used. Could they be 100 yrs old, 200 yrs old, older than that? I figured if anyone recognized the design and we could figure out where they were created it could help to figure out when they were made. Thanks for all the advice and suggestions everyone! I agree the circle design definitely does resemble some Shou designs but the figures on the sides look more indigenous/tribal than Asian to me. But i don’t know anything about this stuff so you are all much better judges.

 

All I know is these are super interesting and I hope you(we) end up finding out exactly what they are. I do believe they have real age on them - I would think at least around 100 years(I could be wrong - I'm no expert either). Just a detail I noticed that each of the seated figures seems to be holding something in their hands, the base of which is perhaps seated on top of their feet. Maybe a drinking vessel of some kind?

 

The way the people on the sides are seated is a usual representation of religious figures in Asia. The leaf headdresses suggest some kind of ceremony.

Do you mean in the Americas? I am not ruling anything out at this point.
If you mean more general indigenous/tribal, great parts of Central Asia are tribal and most people are indigenous to the region, in spite of outside influences.
The word Shaman, which most of us know and often use in a tribal context, is originally Central Asian.
I wouldn't be surprised if these come from a culture with a strong Shamanic influence. Which is the case in most of Central Asia, even the Muslim and Buddhist parts.
They look old and genuine, but that doesn't always translate to value. Value has to do with fashions and tastes.
I can't advise you on these, because I can't compare them to items I know. All I can say is, they are intriguing.

 

My gut feeling is that they are tourist items, not very old, and artificially patinated. Clues include the small size, thin metal, the fact that three similar “very unusual” items were together, and that the chains appear to have been made from stripped copper electrical wire. Close examination of the chain may show tool marks from needle-nose pliers that were probably used to form the links. The lack of dark patina on the chain is an indication that it hasn’t been outside of its original insulation for very long. Please test the chain with a magnet, let us know if a magnet attracts it or not. Also let us know if the bodies of the objects attract a magnet or not. We’re all assuming they are copper, so why might they be attracted to a magnet? There is a small chance they could be copper-plated steel. I’d want to wash my hands after handling those things, you can’t tell what chemicals were used to produce those odd-colored patina.

 

The two larger ones are just under 12 oz each and the smaller one just over 8 oz. magnets do not stick to any part of them. I don’t know that i really see tool marks on them. I have attached a pic of the chain.