Thank you all for the welcome and your ideas. I will try to load more photos but found that I had to drastically reduce the quality to get it to an acceptable size, so any tips re reducing size would be great.
Re powder holder -- I did think of that but the top and bottom weight over 600g apiece, so a bit unweildy. Also, the diameter is just over 5" so again not too easy to lift with one dainty little hand.
When I came upon this piece it was being displayed as two separate bowls, as both top and bottom have flat circles (but in same finish as the rest as the outside). I will try to get more photos up.
I notice you paraphrasing Leonard Cohen Sue -- a fan?
Nancy