And Now the Answer to the French Antique Guessing Game

 

The antique dealer's stand was a mixture of old funky, hip, and religious stuff. Hence a 1900s French quilt, a massive rosary and a brass piece that I thought was a sconce. French Husband noticed it first,

"Hey what would you do with this?"

"Isn't it a sconce?"

The antique dealer pitched in, "I never saw one until the day I bought it. The owner told me it was used to put out the burning cinders in an fire place. It "suffocateur" so to say. You grab the handles while pushing the coals against the chimney wall. 

image from http://s3.amazonaws.com/hires.aviary.com/k/mr6i2hifk4wxt1dp/16101221/79103088-ce98-4026-afbc-6048c65e2bf6.png

 

Wow that rosary lead many of you to think it was something religious, I am sorry about that I wasn't trying to fool you, that is how I found it on the antique dealer's stand. I did buy it to use in Cassis as a sconce. If one day you come to visit you will be able to see it, and think, "She is nuts to use that suffocateur that way."

 

The creative winners are:

Sharon Kasner who wrote…

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

and

tut-tut who wrote…

"Button-hole spacer when sewing garments!"

 

Please send me your addresses via my email so I can send you a little prize.



Comments

10 responses to “And Now the Answer to the French Antique Guessing Game”

  1. wow, this is so interesting! I do wonder about how short those little nobs are though, seems like you’d burn yourself rather easily! (someone needs to make a modern version of this!)

  2. Odd that you would press metal against cinders. Seems like you’d burn your fingers or hands.

  3. I was thinking the same thing–those knobs would be awfully small for handling something as hot as coals. Maybe they had wood on top and the wood came off? Wood would be more insulating.

  4. Jacklynn Lantry

    I bet you used pot holders of some kind, and I bet the metal was necessary because it is fireproof. You just grabbed your pot holder, pushed the cinders to the back of the fireplace, left it there over night and by morning it was cool. One of the best things about these guessing games are the mental gymnastics, it really makes you think, and I’ve learned so much! Thanks C.

  5. Ummmmmm, I am gonna google that!
    haha, never would have gussed that!

  6. LOVE IT!
    BUT OF COURSE!!!!!!!!!!
    XX

  7. Shelley Noble

    I Googled it and found only Corey’s post on earth mentions an item like this. She likely is the originator of the suffocateur coming to the digital age.

  8. I had a bunch of guesses until you said how LARGE it is. Then I was COMPLETELY stumped! Bravo you for deciding to buy this anachronistic mystery!

  9. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    I finally zipped back in time to here, to find out what that silly thing was. Never ever would have guessed.
    I quite enjoy your guessing games, and even more the extremely creative answers everyone comes up with!

  10. OK, ha! I can see why it is obsolete!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *