Oriental Whatsit

I picked up this interesting pot. Design is worn. Stands 5" tall to the top of the lid. Opening is 1 1/4" and the base measures 2" across. Has 4 tiny handles on the side near the top.

 

No idea if this is even close but something about it reminded me of some Sawankhalok pots so maybe Thai?

 

Is the piece in the core removable? Clearly has a specific use, but...?

 

Say I will look that up.

Bronwen, only the lid is removable.

 

I was told this is a cricket cage!

 

Well, it could certainly keep a cricket trapped, but the cricket cages I have seen look like little cages.

 

Bron, same here until I looked. Here is a similar one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154442271691?hash=item23f57a0bcb:g:k4EAAOSwzYtgk9KO

 

That one would work fine as a cricket cage, but yours is significantly different, isn't it? There are perforations only up by the shoulders, so you couldn't see the cricket & the chirping would be...what? Muffled? Given an echo effect? That's if the cricket were in the body below the perforations.

But doesn't your item have something in the center made of solid metal that blocks access to other parts of the vessel? Or am I misreading the photo entirely? If you put a cricket down the neck, could it access all parts of the container?

Haven't seen her for the last day or so (worried emoji), but @Any Jewelry is our Peranakan expert.

 

Bronwen, This mostly is made from pottery/stoneware. There are perforations in the top in the brass and pottery.

 

Anytime I see something even remotely like that I think of a censor, but you guys are the experts.

 

Alynn have been looking at images, maybe it is a censer.

 

Censer was my immediate reaction. Then I thought it would be difficult to place & light the incense down inside, but stick incense might do just fine.

 

Is that it's natural color? It looks sooty, as if it's been through a house fire.

 

It might be Tibetan and not as old as it appears to be.

 

Darkwing, it's showing its age.

MT, I don't think its Tibetan. I have looked at a lot of pictures of censers and cricket cages. The inside is not burnt and doesn't smell like anything has been burned in it. I think it actually is a cricket cage.