Featured What the heck was this used for? What is it?

It is quite amazing, it is carved out of a single piece of wood burl with hand cut brass trim and hinge. Anyone familiar with something close to this? Age? Region?
Thanks

 

Does the top open up to a receptacle? If so, my guess because I don't really know would be a whiskey cask.

 

used for something expensive...

 

It does open up. Someone told me possibly a fermentation pot out of 16th/17th century Japan but I have not been able to pull up anything remotely close. A lot of work went into it for sure. There are also plugged holes around the top in an even pattern if you zoom in a bit.

 

i'm not thinking liquid......
does that hole in the lid go thru..?

 

I'm having trouble seeing a burl.....

what size is it ????

 

The base is 24" across.

 

I wonder what required the lock.

 

Especially since one could pick the entire thing up and walk away with it.

Debora

 

Maybe for rice?

 

There are many types of locking containers for highly valued items such as spices, seeds, tea, sugar, and so on.

A unique shape and material. I couldn't find anything like it. Very interesting.

 

Kimchi pot?

 

Land mine!

 

I definitely see similarities in the image with all of the dried stuff around it. I don't think this is from a gourd. I can see tree rings and woodgrain in it and I don't believe either would be on a gourd.

 

Tracked down the image and it is a divination basket from South Africa. Used for supernatural type things like seeing the future and answering the unknown? Could get creepy if this is the right path of identity

 

Was it carved/hollowed out from the bottom? A gourd starts out basically hollow, and only needs an opening cut into it.

Can we see the bottom? Is it covered with the sheet of metal visible at the bottom edge, or is that just a band?

The best evidence to pursue may be the style of metal work, particularly that lock.

 

it looks like core wood of some type.

Good find @i need help ..& Kilt !!