SOLD Shut Open Open, Curious and Beautiful 19th Century Lead Weighted Sign mesh screen it includes a rectangular tray

it includes a rectangular tray with a pair of boxes--one round

but never have I ever come across a smaller scale one like this

with a great patina to the metal (which I believe is brass but I guess could possibly be steel given a brass-like finish)

Just a beautifully executed

There is a very old paper towel sitting underneath them in the tray for cushion--easily removed

SOLD Shut Open Open, Curious and Beautiful 19th Century Lead Weighted Sign mesh screen it includes a rectangular trayA bit of a mystery, at least to me, but to my eye a wonderful and evocative one and the inked lettering spelling out Shut Open Open just makes me swoon. At first look it seemed perhaps to be a shop sign, indicating open or closed hours, but with a heavy lead weight covering almost the entirety of the back, and an eye hook at top, it must have pulled up or down, perhaps functioning as a gate or door weight, with the shut not referring to closed hours