Featured Pac Islands Plane??

What is this object?

A plane for wood working? If so, why bother decorating it w M.o.P.? Could the 'wings' be handles? Seems like they'd break. Also, there's less than 1 inch 'clearance' between the 'handles' and the bottom of the plane so it'd only be useable on a surface narrower than the width of the plane itself.

It's 7.5" tall and 9.5" wide (20x24 cm), made from dense, heavy wood, and was found in a Portland Oregon 2nd hand shop. The 'handles' slide out and are one piece.

Thank you for any help.

 

@2manybooks .

 

a plane....turned into a cross ??
Solomon Islands ???

indeed interesting!!

 

Well, Jesus was indeed a carpenter.

 

I think this is the most logical (?) explanation. I am not well versed in the structure of antique box planes, but I wonder if the center of the star at the top was where a handle was originally attached.

 

hey...I can be logical.... when the mood strikes me !!

 

Thinking about this some more - may we see the sides with the cross arm removed?

Looking at the back more closely, it looks like the cross arm has the same patina as the main block. If it was a later modification, it seems it would look different. Also, if the cross arm is one piece that slides out (sorry, sometimes I rush through the initial description), it also means the channel for it would be a bit of fine woodworking and perhaps a bit of overkill for a conversion.

Is there a way to get the tool folks' eyes on this? We "tribal" people may be looking at it through the wrong lens.

Also, can you tell if the inlays might be or ivory rather than shell?

 

I like the Pacific Islands approach,but one might guess it could have been used by a ship's carpenter ? They used MOP,whale ivory,shells,etc to decorate just about everything as a way of whiling away the boredom of a long cruise.
Just a thought.

 

Yes, the coloration and designs on the two parts look like they were done at the same time, rather than a marriage.

I think shell--- there's that iridescence in the right angle of light (surprisingly hard to photo!).

That's a great idea @bosko69! Thanks.

Here's more pics; the last one, of the 'channel,' illuminated with my bicycle light:

 

My guess is that the cross piece serves as the handle. You push down and draw back using the cross piece. Try it on a board (even with out a blade) and see if it would work. I have one from Indonesia out in my garage sale stuff carved like a lizard with a cross bar. Quick search did not find it. google Indonesian wood plane and you will find many with the same cross piece.

 

Thanks @Lark. I see what you mean when I google others.

It's gotta be a plane. If the crossbar is indeed a handle, it's appropriately behind where the blade would go, and would therefore be for pushing the plane forward.

 

Well, that is even more logical. It appears to be an Asian style -


https://hntgordon.com.au/blogs/news/asian-style-plane-v-s-a55-style-plane

 

That inlay is like some items I have that are Indian

 

Here's a new thought I saw the other day. How many wooden houses do you see in the Mid-East? Very few. A Hebrew scholar said we've got it all wrong. The translation means 'builder' and he was probably a stone mason, not a carpenter because their houses are all stone and stucco.

 

That sunburst style inlay is also seen in some parts of Indonesia, and a lot in Mindanao, Philippines.

 

Most carpenters don't build houses.
Most Dutch houses are brick and mortar houses, but we still need carpenters for other things, like furniture and ship building.

 

Cool piece w/ nice wood & iron patina.
'Hong Kong-Style' wood plane is the only specific English term i can find for this cross-shaped kind of plane.There's prob others-good luck on your research.

 

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It looks to me like these Filipino designs that you mention, AJ. Thanks for that direction.

And thanks to everybody for all the feedback. It's an interesting object to me. I'm not sure why you'd go through the effort to decorate a tool--in this case, inlay on a plane--, but I guess there's lots of examples of just that sort of thing, from many different cultural contexts.