eBay

druther1501 · ‎11-10-2018

Hello, I was hoping someone might be able to tell me what this is. It's very heavy and I think it's marble, but I'm not sure.

It's 11 1/2 inches long, 10 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches tall. The circular depression is about 1 inch deep. It's too shallow to be called a bowl. It doesn't look like an ash tray or a mortar. The top is smooth and polished while the underside is rough. It has green felt on the bottom.

I got it at an estate sale and believe it's at least 60 years old. Can anyone please tell me what it is or what it was used for? Thanks so much!

lacemaker3 · ‎11-10-2018

A chopping bowl for use with a mezzaluna (half-moon) knife?

If you google mezzaluna chopping bowl, most of them are wooden, but they look like this. The size seems to be about right.

Yours doesn't appear to have been used much at all, though. It's very pretty.

druther1501 · ‎11-10-2018

Wow! I never would have thought of that. That could be what it is. Thanks so much.

argon38 · ‎11-10-2018

@druther1501 wrote:
It doesn't look like an ash tray

It does to me.

druther1501 · ‎11-10-2018

Wouldn't an ash tray have little depressions to hold the cigarette? That's the only reason I didn't think it looks like an ash tray. I suppose it could be.

maxine*j · ‎11-10-2018

@lacemaker3 wrote:
A chopping bowl for use with a mezzaluna (half-moon) knife?

An interesting idea, but I don't think so. Marble is a poor chopping surface, and hard on the blade. The asymmetrical shape would make it unstable for chopping, and the unfinished bottom and sides would be hard to keep clean in a kitchen. (The felt would be impossible to keep clean, although I know it could have been added as an afterthought.) Just my two cents.

maxine*j · ‎11-10-2018

@argon38 wrote:
@druther1501 wrote:
It doesn't look like an ash tray
It does to me.

And to me, too.

maxine*j · ‎11-10-2018

@druther1501 wrote:
Wouldn't an ash tray have little depressions to hold the cigarette? That's the only reason I didn't think it looks like an ash tray. I suppose it could be.

Many ashtrays lack a shaped resting place for the cigarette / cigar, as a quick google image search will confirm.

argon38 · ‎11-10-2018

@druther1501 wrote:
Wouldn't an ash tray have little depressions to hold the cigarette? That's the only reason I didn't think it looks like an ash tray. I suppose it could be.

Isn't that a rough depression to the left of the first photo? Here's something similar, down to the green supporting felt:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Stone-Ashtray-Marble-Granite-Soapstone-Brown-Beige-Man-Cave-Bar-/...