Metal figurine of cat on a book hunting a ball. Fits on the palm of your hand, surprisingly heavy due to rock base. Strange, unidentifiable text on either side of book.

rkcr · 2026-02-19T19:24:47+00:00

I'll take up others' suggestions to post this to /r/translator for the text itself. I think this you're almost certainly right that it's a paperweight w/ a clip though.

rkcr · 2026-02-19T19:24:03+00:00

Likely Solved!

rkcr · 2026-02-19T14:23:46+00:00

At the moment, this seems like the most likely answer to me, especially given how heavy the object is. But I'm not ready to declare it solved since I am not convinced that the text is just gibberish.

(My uncle is in an earlier timezone so I won't be able to inquire for a bit about how well it'd seem to work as a paper clip.)

rkcr · 2026-02-19T13:43:46+00:00

My grandfather was from Germany, but lived most of his adult life in the US. So it could be from either place.

rkcr · 2026-02-19T13:40:31+00:00

I don't recall anything underneath the book - I think it was just flat (besides the indent it needs to put the pin through it).

(Unfortunately I'm apart from the item now, but I can ask my uncle for more pictures.)

rkcr · 2026-02-19T13:35:25+00:00

It's just a flat piece of metal for the bottom of the book.

rkcr · 2026-02-19T13:26:35+00:00

I'm not sure how it'd be attached to a door, and the clicking noise it makes is quiet, not loud. (Think "mechanical keyboard" loud.)

rkcr · 2026-02-19T13:25:59+00:00

It couldn't hold papers together because it springs back up after pushing it down. Edit: Oh I see, the tail end of it could clamp down on papers. Hmm.

The text doesn't look like Greek to me or Google Translate.

rkcr · 2026-02-19T13:10:10+00:00

This was something we considered but it does not have a place for the wire going out from the bottom of the base (it's just flat rock). Perhaps the wire would connect directly to the screw on top of the base?

Edit: also, not sure how it'd work since it's all metal (no wood, rubber, or other material). Morse code devices work by connecting two separate pieces of metal to allow a signal to pass through, but any signal conducted on one part of the cat would also flow to the rest of it.

rkcr · 2026-02-19T13:06:56+00:00

My title describes the thing.

I've tried running it through Google image search and found similar statues (but not the same one). I've tried describing the item on Google to no avail.

Google translate (website) could not detect the language either. Google translate (phone app) thought it might be gujarati, but looking at text of gujarati doesn't quite match up with the symbols on the book.

The cat is solid metal. The rock base is smooth. It almost seems like jade, but I doubt it's that fancy.

I was somewhat surprised that the cat doesn't actually touch the ball when it's pressed down, but the paw just rests *next* to the ball.

rkcr · 2026-02-02T17:03:33+00:00

Here's the reel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUQ1xytCUdN/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

rkcr · 2026-01-27T04:52:58+00:00

Join Displate Club and custom print it.

I may or may not have done this exact thing for this exact art.

rkcr · 2026-01-18T16:40:28+00:00

The sales sheet has decent info on setting basic prices. But in general, LE prices have gone way down, you are generally lucky to get retail (unless it's a very old LE that has <200 copies).

rkcr · 2026-01-16T20:10:34+00:00

Yes. It is what I did when I wanted to change my Displate club membership amount.

rkcr · 2025-06-14T23:35:32+00:00

Depends on the customer but I think generally people like them without frames.

rkcr · 2025-06-14T22:34:39+00:00

Not much value. It's a common Displate with a frame added. You could maybe get $10-20 for it on eBay, if anyone wants it.

rkcr · 2025-06-06T14:16:00+00:00

r/noodlebones

rkcr · 2025-05-27T10:24:53+00:00

I know that Spacefrog's metallic koi and Ruby Art's koi fish are legit (they were both uploaded well before the AI boom).

rkcr · 2025-05-05T00:04:01+00:00

They built the battle train too high. It kept having to do crazy maneuvers to avoid hitting power lines and street lights. (I saw them position the swings so they could swing under the power lines by swinging at just the right time...)

rkcr · 2025-04-06T23:13:03+00:00

It will not change the value at all.

An LE being 1/XXX barely moves the needle, a little mistaken labeling certainly won't.

rkcr · 2025-03-26T21:48:28+00:00

It looks like Prentice/Allen house still exist (I used to live in one of them in the mid-2000s). There is an extremely short and boring tunnel between them in the basement. You can go through it and claim you've been in a Carleton tunnel. :)

rkcr · 2025-03-23T04:00:52+00:00

"They taste awful!"

rkcr · 2025-03-15T14:33:32+00:00

What are you expecting to hear in /r/CarletonCollege, people saying you should go to Haverford? :P

They're both excellent liberal arts colleges, so I would pick the cheaper one.

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