Topic: Any ideas what this is, please?

[Fen]

This completely defeats me. Just over and inch long, no makers marks. The back is flat brass and it appears to be a self contained item. Nothing to hang it from. It's a ridged circular amber to deep brown glass with a white line across it.  You can see by the picture that the top crescent is designed to come out. What on earth could it have been made to be? The inside is hollow. Any ideas would be great.

[deco.queen]

My guess would be a clasp for a bracelet.

[Anne]

Or a necklace - the holes in the metal ends would have taken the strings of beads. I have similar clasps on older bead necklaces *somewhere* in the drawers upstairs!

[jinxi]

Well spotted, it is like one of those puzzle pictures!  

That seems a very probable idea, necklace clasp would also fit.  Same thing really but one inch is very large!  If it is a clasp it would normally have small ring at one end of metal backing and another on the bit that slots in although if they are not there they could have broken off but this would probably leave visible scars on the metalwork.

Veronica

[jinxi]

Now looked again at the photo - which enlarged this time, definitely a clasp for a beaded multistranded necklace or bracelet.  Each strand is threaded through a separate hole on the metal.

[Fen]

Thank you, Jewellery didn't even cross my mind. I even considered it might have held smelling salts. Looking at the size of the clasp I really wish I had the rest of the necklace. It must have been some size.