It has been a while since I had a Mystery Item post, and the objects keep piling up. Here are five items for your consideration, with a sixth bonus item, that cover various aspects of common use. These are all Western items, many of them uniquely so, while others have their counterparts in different cultures.
As usual, write your guesses or identifications for any or all of the objects in the comments. Correct answers will not be visible until the reveal, but incorrect or somewhat-off answers will be posted, often with an additional clue.
#1
This object
is, for obvious reasons, dedicated to Debra She Who Seeks. This is about
an inch (2.5cm) wide, and made of thin metal, although other materials
were also common. I had to remove the writing on it, so as not to give
away the answer.
#2
In an attempt to add a little class to this
blog, I decided to introduce this object. The present example is made of
silver, although gold specimens are often encountered. It is about six
inches long (15cm) when open and ready for use, as shown in the photo.
#3
I had wanted one of these for a long time, and
this summer, at a flea market in Mesopotamia, I found this example. This
useful object is about three feet (one meter) long, and while they come
in several styles, none of them are tiny.
#4
Technology has made this object (about three
inches/eight cm long) somewhat obsolete, although it certainly can still
be used, and was quite convenient not all that long ago. This one is
even suspended on a neck chain to keep it handy.
#5
This is one of the most protean of daily
objects—there seemed to be a contest to see in how many different shapes
these could be made. This one is small, about three inches (8cm) long,
and made of metal, with of course its tiny wooden handle—although not
all of them have such handles.
#6 Bonus Mystery Object
This object is rather
large and heavy, about 10 inches (25cm) wide, and is the most
complicated of today’s items. Its many parts combine to have a definite
practical function, and the whole is still in working order.
I am looking forward to your identifications, guesses, and comments.
(All objects and photos of the same collection of the author.)
