Here's a puzzle for you !!

Found this among some metal-ware bits and pieces bought at an auction.

It's got five legs (one broken off and missing) and five containers
that can be locked down with a center fixing. It's about four inches in
diameter and maybe three high. The best the auctioneer
and I could come up with was that it was some kind of incense burner
where you would open only one container at a time and burn it whilst
keeping the others sealed. Has anyone seen one of these before??
Any ideas of age??

Cheers
Stephen

Update
The holes near the fixing don't connect to the chambers. Thought maybe you would light the incense, close the chamber and let the incense bleed out through the holes but no it wouldn't. The holes locate the container lids prior to locking them down.

 

Very interesting! I've never seen anything like it either. But I think @kardinalisimo might know, or at least have some ideas.

 

Try searching for 'brass peacock kumkum box' ...

~Cheryl

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumkuma

I had to look that up.

 

Thank you Cheryl. So it's not incense but Turmeric . Good to know.
Cheers
Stephen

 

THANK YOU, God!

...for keeping your promise to show me something weirdly beautiful every single day, you're the best!

(And providing us with people who know about weirdly beautiful things, too!)

*sigh*

 

Hi,
I agree. In Iselin NJ the capital of Indian stores in the USA. These boxes are everywhere. They were used for colored powders used on Dwali etc. Some people use them for spices but they do not seal tight enough to keep them fresh.
greg

 

I couldn't have said it better!

 

I thought Edison had become that.....but I've not been to Iselin since before the meteor hit the Yucatan so...

 

Hi KoT,
Edison is the area, Iselin is the town. 95% of Iselin is Indian, 60% of Edison is Indian.
greg

 

Edison is a township and Iselin is unincoporated... No? Metropark is in both.

 

Hi,
It gets confusing but Edison is the area, Iselin is a town and Metropark is a made up name for the area around the train station in Edison. I lived in South Plainfield which is the boro and the town but I lived in the Holly Park section. It is soooooo confusing unless you lived there.
greg

 

Or half your family did. My mom's from Elizabeth and taught in Roselle; Dad was from Maplewood. I have cousins scattered all over the state from Stewartsville to Toms River.

 

My grandmother lived in Elizabeth and an aunt, uncle and cousins lived in Fort Lee and then Leonia. One of those cousins now lives in Hillsdale.

Another uncle lived in assisted living in Edgewater for a few years. I spent a lot of time with him there and taking him to places in the general area.

Plus I spent a lot of time on the Jersey Turnpike when my first husband and I lived in Northern Delaware and traveled back up to NYC on visits. Does that count for anything?