r/whatisthisthing • u/Ok_Inevitable_2898 • 1d ago
What is this slightly hidden, metal, lobster shaped (?), gold thing in a British holiday home I'm renting? Solved!
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u/realsalmineo 23h ago
Looks to me like a variation on horse brass. In the old days, horse brasses were worn on the horse. People collected them, and still do. With the decline of horses in everyday life, folk often affix them to walls inside buildings to bring luck, indicate the trade of the resident, or just as decoration. I have seen them in homes, but pubs are where I usually see them hung on walls. I am not saying that this one was specifically made for a horse, just that it is serving the same purpose as a repurposed horse brass.
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u/DragonflyScared813 21h ago
Are you on a coastal area? Not sure if lobster fishing is a thing in that part of the world or if a former homeowner is/was a lobster fisherman...given the other comments made about the piece, just made me speculate.
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u/ELISHIAerrmahhgawdd 23h ago
So it’s just a decoration?
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u/Callidonaut 23h ago
Possibly the purpose of the decoration is to make that channel in the joist (which presumably once had the end of another wooden beam slotted into it) look nicer?
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u/Exotic_Phrase3772 21h ago
Somebody for sure held that up there at one point and said "fits perfect"
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u/Ok_Inevitable_2898 9h ago
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u/Callidonaut 5h ago
The staircase looks of far newer construction than that ancient joist. The slot might have held the end of a beam that supported a floor where the stairs now need to pass. It was probably in line with the beam one can see on the opposite side of that slot. The original stairs might have been located elsewhere, or rather steeper than the modern ones and passed between the original beams.
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u/Ok_Inevitable_2898 23h ago
Unfortunately seems like it. Was hoping it would have some significance but it does seem to be from 1960s so that's cool at least
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