What IS it?

Have you ever been to a museum and seen a displayed artifact that you had no idea what it could be used for? I love seeing these "history mysteries" and trying to guess what they'd be used for. Then I read the item's description to see how close I was. Usually I'm way off.

Well, I thought it would be fun to periodically feature an historical artifact that has an unusual name or is itself unusual.

Today's History Mystery feature is:


Photo from Jas. Towsend & Son, Inc.

What is it? (And not just what it does, but what it's called!)

Leave your guesses below in the comments!