Help Identify Chinese? Brass Container w/ Carved Wood Handle

Can anyone please help me identify this container?

It’s brass that is brazed together which you can see on the inside. Its handle is a carved wood Chinese dolphin or koi fish I think? It sits on a wood base. It measures 9 inches across, and 6” tall not including the handle. It has a good weight to it.

I’m wondering what its use may have been. Just a fancy storage container? Is it Chinese? How old do you think it is?

Thank you for any help!

 

That is a dolphin but classical, not Chinese. This one's in London's Hyde Park.

Debora

 

boy, that sure looks new to me.......

 

Oh, thank you for informing me! I’m trying to use google image search but am having a hard time finding a similar container.

 

I was wondering about the type of hardware used, but was unsure.

 

Why don't you tell us where you got it and what you were told about it.

Debora

 

I found it at a St Vincent De Paul Thrift Store yesterday, so I have no idea about its history.

I was hoping to figure out more with google image search and looking around online but haven’t been successful. So I was hoping someone on here could help me if they had seen something similar before.

My husband and I thought it looked like it had age to it. I think the handle is beautifully carved.

I was wondering if the hardware and the way it was brazed together would help date it if at all possible. I took pictures of the slot screws and thumb screws.

 

@StaceyFinds your box appears to be a humidor.
I have no idea on age but I'm pretty sure that it is a humidor.
Mikey

 

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/french-champleve-and-bronze-humidor-cherub-58-c-99c44419a7
Similar but a little more elaborate.

 

Thank you! I’ll look further into that.

 

Funny, I thought it might be a humidor too. Size works and they have been made in brass. Not terribly old I'd think with that finish and pristine felt. If I had to guess, I'd think it was 1980s-1990s during the last great cigar craze. And British, at least in taste. A handsome home decor accessory.

Debora

 

Thank you for your input! I think it is very handsome too. I wonder if somebody could have added the felt later if it was an older piece?

 

The structure and surfaces look very new/contemporary to me, too. The dolphin does not look hand carved - the surface is lumpy and irregular, without identifiable knife or chisel marks. It looks like it might be a compressed composite, perhaps formed in a mold (and thus mass produced).

 

Thank you for pointing these things out to me. I appreciate it!