These Are Not Lipstick Tubes…

By Minnesotastan in Art, Baby & Kids, Toys on Feb 8, 2010 at 4:35 pm

The objects above are remarkably ornate baby rattles/ teething toys, as crafted by a master silversmith. They are attributed to Nicholas Roosevelt, an 18th-century American craftsman, and are now part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This rare and precious gold toy, with its elaborate chased and repoussé ornament, might have been given as a lavish christening gift. It consists of a whistle, a piece of teething coral, six of the original eight bells, and a loop to hang a toy on a ribbon around the child’s neck. Aside from being a teething device, the coral in the whistle and bells was thought to ward off enchantment and disease.

One can’t help but wonder if creations such as this had some influence on the development of the idiom “bells and whistles” to describe supplementary showy functions.

Link, via Titam et le Sirop d’Érable.

Tags: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nicholas Roosevelt, Toy

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BatskyStarman
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Lol, I have one idea . . .
Oscar Meyer
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Hot dog holders?
Rammy M
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
@Batsky, I know what you’re thinking

Are these of religious significance? (then I know what they are)
vmos
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
the least obscene answer I can come up with it that the pink bits are penis bones, possibly from a lemur or monkey.

Although I refuse to speculate what purpose they might serve on grounds of decency
Jmo
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
They must be ornate baby rattle / whistles! Most likely Victorian. Talk about born with a silver spoon!
Lostfiniel
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Temple massagers? For massaging your temples….
Lostfiniel
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Honestly, they look like whistles to me
TragicKitten
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
They’re baby rattles, the coral on the bottom is for teething.
Nihilady
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Close Jmo, it’s more like a rattle/whistle/teething ring/chew-toy combo with a coral spoon
Mike Stone
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
They look like the bells Bhuddist monks put on their walking sticks.
Doom
Feb 8th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Wax holder for those olden days wax stamps?
Howard
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
They’re wine stoppers. Gold for the good stuff, silver for the just ok stuff.
Samantha Lewis
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
These are 19th century baby teethers AKA pacifiers, the bells and whistles are the other entertainment options. The coral was to ward off sickness, probably gong back to early cultural superstitions that coral was good to avert the “evil eye”.
budgie98
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
TragicKitten is correct. They were very common when I was a child (but not in my social circle!)
dj_nme
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I think that I recognise them, but depending on how big they are and whether the red thing stuck in the bottom of each of them is permanent, they could maybe either be Torah finials or yads.
Torah finials are the decorative trim put on the ends of the stick the vellum (they aren’t written on paper) is wrapped around.
Yads are pointers (if the red bits are permanent) that are used when reading from the Torah, to prevent damaging the page with your fingertip and they look weird so that it doesn’t appear to be an idol that’st is being worshiped when reading from the Torah.
nick
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
going to say a dildo of sorts…..ha
Cat
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Howard’s close. They’re spouts for a table fountain, which would pump wine through a decorative fixture in Medieval France. (http://cma.org/explore/work.asp?searchText=1924.859&display=&tab=2&re cNo=0)
Stephen
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
They are “Yad” which literally means Hand.

These are Jewish ritual pointers, used to point to the text during the Torah reading from the parchment Torah scrolls.

Shalom!
yes
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Looks like a Ring holder for all your fancy and non-fancy rings.
Largefromage
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Baby rattles – but only when you give him a shake
kyle
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Butt scratcher
SEan
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
They are baby toys. They have a whistle on the front end, my uncle is a antiques dealer I have one of them.
Naomi Williams
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
The stones looks like carnelian to me, which means that they might be used by an alternative healing practitioner to balance the chakras, possibly by waving them over the patient, or swinging back and forth as pendulums.
arkityp
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHKTE75dgE4
lil_suprises
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Device to ensure virginity. Nearly impossible to remove without ringing the bells.
Maxie
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Well the bit at the bottom looks like the charms people used to use to ward off the evil eye, the bells could be for that too, so I’m gonna say it’s some sort of good luck charm or something to ward off evil.
bees
Feb 8th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Here it is…
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080510/FEATUR ES/805100304/-1/FEATURES0604
Skipweasel
Feb 8th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Yup, it’s a baby teether mde from coral. I wonder how many babies choked on the janglies?
ragazzambulante
Feb 8th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
i was going to say that they were cornicelli, which are little Italian charms to ward off the evil eye, but then somebody pointed out the whistle on the end and I gave it a second thought…
Lis ??
Feb 8th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Tis Dildos!!!!
Lis
Feb 8th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Tis Dildos!!!
iSAWiWASi
Feb 8th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Yep, they’re Victorian baby rattle/teether combos!–the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood website has an interesting description: http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/collections/childcare/rattle/index.html
Pademelon
Feb 8th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
They’re rattles for a baby! Gorgeous ones too!
Chris P
Feb 8th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Its a fancy wax stamp kit.
carl
Feb 8th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
man, I was really hoping they were butt whistles.
edselpdx
Feb 8th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
I think I must just have a dirty mind.
love.binge
Feb 8th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
ancient dildos for the rich.

sorry if i’m too straight up lewd.
Professor
Feb 8th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
They look like wax-holders for official seals to me…
Dr. Rock
Feb 8th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/roco/hod_47.70.htm
Minnesotastan
Feb 8th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Jmo was the first of several to identify the correct category for the objects. bees and iSAWiWASi found related links, and Dr. Rock has just tracked down the source of the photo.

I’ll go ahead and revise the post tonight.
Cola
Feb 9th, 2010 at 2:27 am
It’s very interesting reading these comments knowing what these objects are now.
A Break Faster in the rye
Feb 9th, 2010 at 10:27 am
And neither are called iPads!!!

Steveious Jobacka.

P.s. – Beblamero can suck Fishes.

JUST KIDDING!

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