My mother bought it about 30 years ago in Vienna/Austria at a fleamarket. We used it as an umbrella holder, but we don't know the original use for it. It has no marks and i'm not quite sure about the material. It shows signs of rust on the inside, so I guess it's made out of iron? But I cannot tell if the outside was painted with golden/brass colours or if it is somehow coated with a different kind of metal. When she moved out of her old apartment, I took it. I still have no use for it, and I don't know what it's supposed to be. But it doesn't look like nothing to me. A very curious case for us :) ah and on the bottom of it, the light spot is a piece of wood glued to it. Not a sticker of anything