The brass thingies are estriboles....which is Spanish for stirrup. In parts of south America they are sold often as souvineers. I have a little gold one hanging from my charm bracelet. These may be old or just tarnished.
The crystal is likely bohemian/Czech...cut to clear lead crystal.
Damn Salvation Army again?????
Linda C

Linda you are *amazing*. I google-imaged 'spanish stirrup' (estriboles) didn't come up, and WOW!

These things are seriously old, IMO -- not just tarnished. There's so much use on them. any idea re value? Again, you RULE!

And yes, re the crystal, I'm thinking bohemian/Czech, but which pattern? Which company? Or is that as far as you can go without a paper label?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1390616}}

Way to go Lindac!!!! I had no clue!!! Great to learn something new thank you!!

Hey linda,

I've researched some more on value and it appears the *pair* has more value than the single stirrup. Also appears mine are Portuguese, fwiw. Also, I can't find *any* with the little man on them -- the larger one is more common, but the little guy is nowhere to be found. I'm wondering if maybe I should return the larger one and keep the little guy?

Should I mail you the larger one to thank you? :)

Those stirrups are reproduced all over Latin America, for use by vaqueros or for decorating houses.

If you could authenticate them, based on metal composition and any marks, a couple hundred dollars.

I have no idea how long that style was used...but I thought I remembered that in the not so distant past, the south American "cowboys" used that style stirrup...but maybe not. I know I have seen depictions of Don Quixote wearing them....and knew that they were used with armor...
Yeah....likely not worth a thing since they don't match.....
Wouldn't you love to know the journey they took to get to you? Obviously someone who "collected" stuff like that.

When are you going shopping again?
Linda c

Thanks, lazygardens...unfortunately these are so beat up on the bottom that I can't see any marks--maybe there were none there. They have only the one round hole vs. two triangular holes, but that seems to be common for the Portuguese vs. Spanish styles. I read somewhere that someone's pair were bronze with a brass overlay ?? I wonder how I could figure out what they're made of.

I do like that little guy, though...

And yes, I sure would love to know the journey they took, linda -- like I would with my Russian painting, the bronze candelabrum...so many things...

And I'll probably go back tomorrow to return one or both of them -- you want to come along? We'd have such fun :)

Linda, Linda -- I identified the crystal! Noticing several things from various web searches, e.g. other companies that had similarly simply cut patterns (no cross-hatching, flowers, etc.), and a bump in the stem...

I found it.

a little happy dance :) I paid $1.99 for each stem of 22 :)

Here is a link that might be useful: I know replacements prices are silly, but still -- it's IDed!

Yeah....just a little Val St. Lambert....!!! LOL!
Isn't there a mark on the bottom?? It's hard to see, but if they are Val St L....it should be there.
Belgian....Bohemian...I wasn't too far off! LOL!
Linda C

Well, there's really no mark I can see, even when I look with reading glasses, but then again there's a listing on eBay by a person who seems to specialize in crystal, who says that her pieces aren't marked but "we can safely say they're Val. St. Lambert". So maybe these weren't marked? They are really clearly the same pattern, if you look at the picture on the replacements listing. And they're definitely good heavy crystal...I may even call some Val St. Lambert number somewhere (if I can find one) to ask whether this pattern was acid-marked or not.

Ah...someone else I wrote who is knowledgeable and is selling some of this pattern wrote me back and said that Val St. Lambert table pieces had paper labels!