Antique Iron Tassel-Shaped Gate Weight alvino bagni Another from my trip to

Another from my trip to my favorite antiquarian bookseller in Maine this week

or an Oscar

A nice companion to either or both of the folk art still banks I'm listing today

There were clearly made by hand

Antique Iron Tassel-Shaped Gate Weight alvino bagni Another from my trip toI think old cast iron gate weights are excellent objects and a fun thing to collect, with a lot of variety to tassel shaped ones of this sort; I believe this one probably 3rd quarter 19th century. A weight like this would have been hung from from a chain, most commonly on a garden gate, functioning as a counterweight to make the gate close on its own. The transformation of the form of a silk curtain tassel into a solid iron one makes it feel like