Purchased as a salt shaker. Appears to be too ornate for that use. Salt shaker or pounce pot or pepper pot or talc pot?
What are your opinions please. C size battery for scale. Marked sterling
Thanks…,Michael
1 Like
I’d go with salt shaker. It looks far too modern to be a pounce pot, and I think the holes are probably too small for that too.
Phil
Thanks Phil
The ornateness of it had me a bit confused 
It doesn’t look very practical…
It’s rather top heavy even empty Does not look to have ever had a base weight. Maybe it will just be okay as a nice shiny thing. It cost me melt value so ah well
You may have a Jewish spice box – besamim.
I googled and found a Besamim flower with the same type of stand as yours for sale in a Jerusalem shop.
1 Like
I think jglw has got the answer. It’s not something I would have thought of…
Phil
Any marks?
Could you share a photo of the top showing the “holes”?
The number of holes seems a bit low but otherwise I think you are right. Maybe the idea is to shake it so the contents can rest in the channel formed by the petals ?
Uploading: image.jpg…
Found this for sale in a judaica online shop
Thanks very much. Your advice is spot on and I would never have known or even though of this
Thanks again. Michael
1 Like
The item is not designed as a shaker but as a spice container to emit a good odour to overcome bad odours.
The purpose of the besamim is to cheer us up from the loss of our “extra souls” ( neshama yetaira ) which depart at the conclusion of Shabbat (Rashbam to Talmud Pesachim 102b).
Just about any naturally-occurring aromatic object may be used for this.
I note the word “Sterling” and under that the number 825.
Christopher
Thank you. It’s turned out to be much more interesting than a salt cellar
1 Like
Thank you for sharing your information. I found it interesting and informative.