Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

French Antique Guessing Game

 

Here it is the next French Antique Guessing Game-

For those of you who have never played and for those of you who have here is how it works:

The photos are of a French Antique that I saw today and did not have a clue as to what it was.

And when that rare occasion happens I put it here to see if it can stump you too.

The first person to guess what it is, purpose and name, wins a prize.

The person with the most creative original idea wins a prize too.

You can guess as many times as you want. 

I will announce the winners

tomorrow, or the day after

depending if there is a correct answer.

 

 

 

The French Antique is over two feet long.

It is made of brass, it has two knobs that do not turn, never have never will.

It is about 100 years old or a little less.

I can only imagine some of the hilarious responses I am going to have…

and I dare say none of you will know the answer.

 

 

The last French Antique Guessing Game nobody got it right. But the one who won with the most creative response received the cup carrier.

This antique is not the prize, it is going in the apartment in Cassis.

 

Guess away! I cannot wait to read what you will say.

 

xoxo

Comments

55 responses to “French Antique Guessing Game”

  1. Janet Eiffel

    Some sort of chastity device ??
    Male, I hope !!!

    Reply
  2. Marilyn

    My first thought was a breast plate to protect against intruders striking us with a sword.

    Reply
  3. Mawsiepaws

    A Breast Plate?!

    Reply
  4. pc Brown

    Could this be the tray for a weight scale? Those two little knobs helping to center it/secure it on a scale, the two feet of length would make a nice “bowl” to hold fish or produce?
    Either that, or a hat form for those extra large Nun’s habits (thinking, Sally Fields ala Sister Bertrille)?
    I would really like it if it were the hat form, because wow and wow with a 2 foot brim!

    Reply
  5. Kipper

    To smooth/grind nutmeats or herbs. A template to cut paper or fabric, join sections together and it would form a sphere.

    Reply
  6. Toni

    A Titiliarre. The knobs – they are rubbed for good luck. Can be pronounced with a French or Italian accent. Yes, I just made this up. Couldn’t help it.

    Reply
  7. lanmangina@me.com

    Guess #1 – A shade to sconce.
    Guess #2 – A dome to a bell.
    Guess #3 – A top to a warming plate or bed warmer.
    Guess#4 – A top to a cooking device that you put in a fire.

    Reply
  8. Sharon Kasner

    Metal shoulder pad to mark buttonholes to attach Epaulettes on military uniforms.

    Reply
  9. Diogenes

    A religious cheese protector
    or
    a 19th century je ne sais quoi

    Reply
  10. Chico Sue

    I think it is a solid falsie for a virgin to wear under her blouse so that no suitor will find her soft or desirable.

    Reply
  11. Robin

    I think it for darning (?) a sock.

    Reply
  12. LeighNZ

    An early breast prosthesis with two nipples the centre for when the wearer is standing and the side nibble for a more natural placement when in repose, ie gravity is not kind and your boob tries to slip under your arm when lying on your back Arrrh!!

    Reply
  13. LeighNZ

    A side nipple NOT a side nibble lol

    Reply
  14. LeighNZ

    If you did try a side nibble you’d be in danger of breaking a tooth!

    Reply
  15. Bungalow Hostess

    A food warmer…you place it over the dishes that you want to keep warm.

    Reply
  16. WR

    A cup for an Amazon. No one ever talks about girls protecting their private parts. Sheesh!

    Reply
  17. Taste of France

    A cover for the baptismal font.

    Reply
  18. Our French Oasis

    Something to do with making ladies corsets

    Reply
  19. Tongue in Cheek

    I thought it was a shade too, and bought it to use as that. Only to be told what it really is….

    Reply
  20. Tongue in Cheek

    clever!!

    Reply
  21. Tongue in Cheek

    lol,
    “…a 19th century je ne sais quoi.”

    Reply
  22. SLW

    In your picture there is Le chapelet (rosary) and a bowle de benedictions. The bowl is a traveling benediction that held the holy water. It is missing the leather straps that held it onto the priest’s shoulders. It could also double as armor.
    For some reason I couldn’t post to the blog article

    Reply
  23. SLW

    It is a religious item as mentioned above….

    Reply
  24. sue j.

    incense burner (and a pretty rickety one, too)

    Reply
  25. SLW

    Maybe more exact….voyager benitier ??

    Reply
  26. Jennie

    I think it is a shield to protect women from those side nibbles Leigh NZ was talking about.

    Reply
  27. Julia – Vintage with Laces

    It’s a piece from a royal gourmet kitchen and was used to serve snake Hollandaise.

    Reply
  28. Marlis

    Lace shaping tool

    Reply
  29. lanmangina@me.com

    Ok here is my 5th guess- It is a cover for the vessel that holds the Eucharist as storage in church.

    Reply
  30. Brenda, Walker, LA

    It is a fitting for the old sewer pipes winding here and there in the old french structures that you will use in Cassi’s house!! Since you were told that is what it is, you will keep it and use it now or in the future as you keep finding awesome places to fix!

    Reply
  31. Lil

    It’s a cover of something with two knobs for picking it up and I would guess that it’s a cover for a holy water font.

    Reply
  32. Linda

    It has to be a breast plate for a leprechaun warrior!

    Reply
  33. Brenda Locklear

    I think it’s a foot/bed warmer…

    Reply
  34. Sue

    A piece of a Sputnik like satellite or part of Jeanne d’Arcs armor.

    Reply
  35. Pam

    I think it is an antique holy water vessel

    Reply
  36. Julia – Vintage with Laces

    It’s a percussion instrument, similar to a gong.

    Reply
  37. tut-tut

    Button-hole spacer when sewing garments!

    Reply
  38. Jody

    Oh gosh..over two feet long.
    It is worn vertically over a belly for protection. Perhaps a (pregnant) woman’s stomach.
    She is traveling through war zone. The top button must have a ribbon wrapped around it and then around her neck. The bottom button also has a wrap which is then tied around her waist.Now she cannot be pierced .

    Reply
  39. Jody

    Initially I thought to was a warmer of sorts. But is is huge! Maybe after roasting a pig you place this cover over it, tie the snout to one end, the tail to the other. Lay it Upon a hot bed of bricks or stone ..the pig roast stay warm. I am a vegan and have never roasted pork,so please pardon the lack of correct terminology. I’m grasping for ideas, and don’t think I have played your guessing games for a very long time!

    Reply
  40. Marilyn

    How about a cover for a door bell?

    Reply
  41. Irene Thomas

    Since it is Cassis, I was thinking it might be some type of holder for fishing nets, securing the ends on the knobs, to prevent unravelling. The fisher would just drop it near the front door each night.

    Reply
  42. lanmangina@me.com

    Very resourceful it will look great as a shade in cassis!

    Reply
  43. Carol L

    This definitely has a practical purpose.
    Is it a rainwater diverter to put at the end of a downspout?
    Or maybe in a sink for soaking delicates? I was going to say babies but it is metal. Who knows maybe back then they lined it with a towel.
    Or…it was made before bicycles had kickstands and you parked your front bike tire in it so it would stand up!?

    Reply
  44. Liz

    It is an altar boys wall plate and the little knobs were to hold their everyday and Sunday rosaries.

    Reply
  45. Paulette

    Oh Corey!
    It’s such a simple explanation that I hope no offense will be taken since you don’t seem to know what it is.
    You see, in Cassis in the old days, women longed to be outside basking in the sun and sipping pastis in the afternoon in the privacy of their rooftop verandas.
    But the daily bread needed to be made for the village.
    Out of Mother’s necessity, this two foot long oval metal contraption was invented to ease the handmaiden’s task and get them back to the pastis.
    While the leather strap is missing from where it attached to the two studs, the cover is still used in remote villages today.
    What is it you ask? The lazy maiden would simply plop a portion of bread dough onto a wooden board and then place the metal oven contraption over it. She would then carry the covered board to the verandah, strategically placing it when the sun would shine upon it. She was too lazy to roll the dough out into a two foot oval shape but preferred to allow the sun to heat the metal which in turn heated up the yeast rising dough which would in turn fill up the entire oval underneath and bake the bread at the same time.
    The sun would cast a shadow near five o’clock upon the risen and baked bread metal encasement and Viola! the bread was ready for the evening meal even though the bread making maiden had passed out from the pastis long before. Cheers! Paulette

    Reply
  46. marina

    a skullcap for people who have nipples on their head

    Reply
  47. Sharon Kasner

    Oops, just saw it is 2 feet long!
    Guess #2 A frame to make rosaries. To keep them all the same length.
    Guess #3 A tassel form. Wind yard around then tie off the ends and cut in the middle
    .Guess #5 A form to make nuns hats – i.e. Flying Nun style…

    Reply
  48. Ali

    I think LeighNZ has the best answer…
    I can’t top that.
    Ali

    Reply
  49. Janus

    It is a form for making those big ass hats Napoleon would wear.

    Reply
  50. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    Breastplate with nipples for a really saucy nun. Oh wait. Somebody else mentioned nuns. This is the upper part of a chastity belt set. For that stylish wife of a Crusader off on his business trip.
    (What IS it??)
    OR, in honor of Diogenes and Franca Bolla, it’s a receptacle for the ashes that result from smoking a joint all the way down to the roach clip.

    Reply
  51. Shelley Noble

    I avoid reading these game posts because I get terribly frustrated not being able to know the answer!

    Reply
  52. Lil

    Used to partially cover a cooking pot and direct the steam?

    Reply
  53. Julia Thelen

    I’m guessing some type of wall-mounted washing bowl. Perhaps missing it’s insert? The knobs are for hanging towels?

    Reply
  54. Catalina

    is a container for holy water, used to go outside church for people who for some reason couldn’t go inside
    or is that to ask for wishes?(to leave a paper there)
    or just to put a bay to sleep 🙂
    Love your guessing games!
    Love

    Reply
  55. Lil

    Cover for a baptismal font

    Reply

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