Here is another picture for you to view.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1397164}}

Just a wild guess.....but perhaps a baptismal font? Maybe it was at one time sliver plated and the silver has been removed. I know a few years back people were buying silver plated stuff with the thoughts of un plating them and salvaging the silver. Think the processes turned out to cost more than the silver recovered.....but a friend had a shop full of bad silver plated stuff to un plate.
Any markings at all?
Worth anything? Of course! any big old metal object that can be polished up is worth something!
Linda C

Suspect it is just a really lovely cachepot or jardiniere. It's not unusual to find older footed ones in brass.

I'd go with either jardiniere or incense burner. Looks made in India for export.

I was told it was a Brazier and was Mediteranean. Whats your thoughts on that?

Does the underside of the lift out part look like it's been exposed to charcoal? Does the inside of the bottom part look like it's had fire in it? Is there any way to get air to a charcoal fire in the bottom part?
If not...I'll stand by my guess as a baptismal font...
don't believe a jardiniere...the removable pot's not deep enough, and brass and copper kill plants planted in them.....and there is no drainage.
Perhaps could be a container for a huge bouquet in a hotel lobby? Nah.... not deep enough for big flowers....

The fire or coals would be built in the removable pan, not the base if it were a brazier, Linda. Yes, flower pots do come in copper and brass even if it is toxic to plants. Ask me how I know, I've run a floral business for quarter of a century. And if it were a cachepot there is no reason for drainage. It's just a decorative place to stick the real pot.

Yes, it does look like one of those made in India for export items. They're often meant to be more decorative than functional.

We've had this baptismal font discussion on the antique forum before. Most private estates don't have spare fonts tucked away for a rainy day ;-) Most fonts have some sort of religious symbolism on them as well. This is about as secular as it comes.

Staci.............we're all just guessing at this point because it's pretty a pretty bizarre (uhm novel) piece. I have seen a couple similar ones online identified as baptismal fonts, but one dealer was honest enough to admit it was for want of a better description and asked if anyone could really identify what it was, to please let them know. It's some sort of artistic piece and may be little more than a stand meant to be used to display something else on....that's why I asked for dimensions.

Maybe the 2 pieces have nothing to do with one another. They might have been placed together for storage, and the fact one fits inside of the other is nothing more than coincidence. Just my 2 cents. ;o)

Thanks for all your input. I've spoken to the family and she was a world traveler and brought this back from one of her travels. It actually did come from an old church which was destroyed quite some time ago and this was back in a storage area underground and they were tearing down the existing building and going to rebuild. Im still not sure what it is, but it is quite unique and will probably just sit and look neat at my place for awhile. Thanks again for all your help.

So....my answer of a baptismal font is looking better and better.
Perhaps there was a lid....with a cross on it.
I know the baptismal font at our church has no religious motifs but for the cross on the lid.
Look at the example linked......similar in many ways.
Linda c

Here is a link that might be useful: baptismal font.

That looks like the big brass things a church I visited uses for holding various flowers. They have one on either side of the pulpit area.

It might make a nice ash tray, or with a glass top, an end table. Depends on how tall it is.

Yes........I'd still like dimensions on it. The font you pictured Linda holds 22 gallons of water and a valve to release it. This piece has a small, shallow pan to hold whatever it was designed to hold. Certainly not deep enough to 'dunk' anything. That might work for a sprinkling type baptism like my church has, but I doubt they'd have the water held in a cheap tin or copper liner. And yes, modern baptismal fonts often are quite plain with no adornment, or symbols.........but I don't think this is a modern anything. Neither can I picture it as a holy water font.

You mention a brazier, and that is entirely possible, as the blessed palms are burnt for distribution on Ash Wednesday. Since they are blessed, it would be done respectfully and I can see where it might be done at one time in an adorned vessel. Never witnessed the burning of the palms, so I don't know.

Also thought it was for burning palms..I have seen palms burned, at my church the pastor used a Weber small Smokey Joe Grill, but I m sure other churches may have a bit more decorum and use something like the above vessel.

It looks to me like the base for a samovar. The middle eastern motif and shape. The wide soldered on tray at the bottom would be to prevent accidental knocking off of the samovar with boiling water. The top part to actually hold the hot water is missing.

Sorry for not following up, been away from my computer. The measurements on this thing is 21"tall x 18" diameter. The copper dish is 10" in diameter and 4" deep. The bottom brash dish that the whole thing sits on is 23" diameter. Thanks again for your reponses. Still not positive as to what it is but it is pretty and sitting in my living area.