Help Identifying Possibly Antique Leather Object

[DoorMaker]

Hello everyone,

I am hoping someone can help me identify this rather unique (to me) leather-crafted object I've acquired.  It is a reverse cone hanging from a strap with six slits in the top.  Attempts to use Google Lens just gave me a variety of studded leather items, none of which even approximated a match.

If anyone here would be kind enough to give me some insight into what it is I have, I would be very grateful.  I have provided links to photos of the object on my OneDrive account below.

 Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Thank you so much!

 

Tim Mauldin

[chuck123wapati]

if you post your pictures here i will look at them. 

.

[fredk]

[Sinbad395]

a sheath for multiple blades of some sort?

[DoorMaker]

[DoorMaker]

Thank you so much for the replies!

Sorry for the links.  The forum would not let me upload files before (likely because I did not have an account yet).

Here is the full photo of the item.

[DoorMaker]

The images I took were a bit large, so the forum will only let me upload the one.

Thank you all again for your help!

[DoorMaker]

@Sinbad395  Thank you for the reply!  That does feel like a real possibility.

 

When I first saw it I thought it resembled the censers that are used to burn incense in a religious ceremony, but the slits don't really seem convenient for that.  A knife sheath does seem to make more sense.

[fredk]

I can't think of or suggestion anything else so I'd support the idea of a knife sheath. For a working person who needs a number of knives handy, like a fish preparer, beheading and gutting fish. Those rivets remind me of European Spanish or Portuguese; they like to use a lot of those rivets, on leather and woodwork

[DoorMaker]

@fredk Thank you.  And thank you for the origin possibilities. 

It isn't that large, so they would need to be relatively narrow-bladed knives.  But if it were crafted by someone with a specialty in mind where wider knives wouldn't be necessary, it could make sense.

[fredk]

Old style fish filleting knives are long and thin, about 6 inches long blade and 3/4 to 1 inch at the widest and with a pronounced curve

This sort of shape, which would fit in your carrier easily

They blunt fairly speedily when gutting a lot of fish so if you have a boat load to do you'd want a few sharpened knives handy

[chuck123wapati]

yea i 'm for multiple knife sheath. could even be for some kind of farming type work where you need knives for harvesting all day.

[DoorMaker]

@fredk @chuck123wapati

Awesome, thank you!

I will leave this thread open for now in case someone has some more insights, but you have been extremely helpful.  The knife carrier theory is seeming pretty solid. @Sinbad395  Thank you for presenting that possibility.

I thought this looked pretty unique and interesting, so I bought it; but I will admit I was a little out of my depth.  Thank you again for the help!

[fredk]

4 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

yea i 'm for multiple knife sheath. could even be for some kind of farming type work where you need knives for harvesting all day.

Grape pickers? they used to use short curved blade knives as well. But I think the curve on their blades was much more pronounced with the point curving towards the cutting edge

[bladegrinder]

May have been a spice holder, pepper or what have you.

[HandyDave]

Medieval marital aid?

[fredk]

  Maybe not, They were made of sheeps skin, sheep intestines or fish skin. Certain ones used a captive mouse inside (Honestly)

[Handstitched]

8 hours ago, HandyDave said:

Medieval marital aid?

Married to what ??