Featured 500 year old mystery item?

Hello like minded folks, bear with me on this one!
I discovered this item in a box of antiquities that was bought at a self storage unit sale in the 1980's by some friends of mine. They were about to burn the box as rubbish!!! After a quick look through it I saw CDV albums, WW1 items, bibles etc. I offered them 20 bucks at the time and they were happy to take it. Thank goodness I saved it as the box has given me many years of enjoyment researching it's contents.
This little mystery has had me baffled for 40 plus years with zero results on exactly what it is!
The wooden cylinder itself is superbly made for it's small size and has a perfect tight fitting lid. Although the paint on the top is ancient and crackled, one can still read the word 'Coclico'.
There are only two results when searching this word on the web, one is a modern shoe store in NY (don't think it relates!) and the other is 'Adrianus Petit Coclico, a Flemish composer born in 1499 and dying sometime around 1562.' See Wikipedia.
Past research on the magnifying lens doesn't bring up anything resembling this item. As for the metal, I believe it was gold plated as it is magnetic where the gold has been rubbed off.
The cylinder also contains some cotton used to cushion the item of which some looks very old. I suppose it would be helpful to have some carbon dated to give a better indication of its age.
Could it have been used to assist in reading music when the eyesight of a composer was failing? It works well for that when I tried it on some sheet music.
I once contacted the Danish museum of Music (with photos), but they didn't seem interested in the least.
So, any thoughts on how to move forward on the mystery? Any insights or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanking everyone in advance!

 

have u tried any optics museums..?

 

No, sorry I haven't, will follow up! Thanks for the suggestion. Have to be tomorrow now, done for the day!

 

Looks like the original loupe.

 

I'm finding similars with a variety of search words including magnifying half dome. Here's one on Amazon. The internet says they're for reading maps. If the container is original and yours is branded, it's going to be much more recently made.

Debora

 

Here is a much newer one but the similarities are there....


Tabletop Brass Map Magnifying Reader

 

That font is not 500 years old so even though it has the name of a composer from that era, the object is not.

 

Here's another: (although we know 1stDibs is a bit pricey...)

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/d...fying-glass-brass-19th-century/id-f_22600752/

And yet another very similar!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1233301066/antique-brass-bausch-lomb-optical-loupe?click_key=7a95300f9c7d1da574d3d4c2ceb5520f0ee9d41e:1233301066&click_sum=fcd179e6&external=1&rec_type=ss&ref=landingpage_similar_listing_top-1&sts=1

and one more, but couldn't bring up the sold price in 2008:

​

 

meaning no offence .......none of these posted are similar ...

Deb's is too large....the others have screw functions.....

yes they are used for map reading......but that's it..

@Thomahawk ...are there any marks on the metal ????

this is more like it.......

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1191242292/miniature-magnifying-glass-on-tripod

 

Great teamwork. It's now been identified as a map reader; that solves a "40 plus years" mystery. And a duplicate has been found. The seller dates the item to 1910 but provides no support. Given an internet search brings up no antique/vintage optical equipment with the brand name Coclico, I (for one), would assume it's of foreign manufacture.

Debora

 

WHERE on earth did you find it, @komokwa !!!!? Never mind....just saw......on Etsy....where I too searched.....guess just not far enough!!!!

 

Just got back and thanks to everyone for the information! Thanks @komokwa, that is amazingly similar to mine. That particular one looks silver(ish). I will investigate further and still might get the cotton carbon dated. And also, there are no marks anywhere on the metal, that would have been nice!

 

right down to the 3 tabs that hold the glass in place !!!

 

Yes, pretty spot on! Thanks again, was really hoping for something older for sure.

 

Aren't we all !!

who knows...the case might be older than the contents !

 

Interesting object! Always nice to see unusual things

I was just going to suggest that the name might be just someone with the same name as the composer Coclico, perhaps in a communal setting when needing to name possessions (army or sea going maybe?) Especially as it looks stencilled /stamped on. The surname is unusual but still in use today. Obviously when searching a name you will find its most famous holder but doesn't mean it couldn't have belonged to someone with the same name.

Just based on the design, I would have said slightly earlier date than 1910, probably late 19th century around 1880-1890 just based on the lion paw feet which are a little baroque revival. By 1910 things were tending to be a little more Art Nouveau or utilitarian. Just a guess though!

 

Thanks Kylie, yes I enjoy this item because it is unusual and had me guessing for a long period of time. It's great to have so many people give their opinions and supply relevant information, and pictures! I've solved a few mystery's since joining not long ago and there is more to come. Love this forum!

 

I found Coclico mentioned in an 1857 Cincinnati newspaper. It would suggest this was a trade name.

 

Goes back to the idea that the cylinder could have originally contained something other than the magnifying piece.