Coupler Couple, Earlyish 19th C. Iron Buckboard Wagon Couplers-Cum-Snakes victorian spillikins Two clipped corners

Two clipped corners

I am not entirely certain the age of this sampler but would guess first quarter of the 19th century or so

Late in life

it was as the subject of a painting by British artist Francis Barraud that he later became an icon

functioning just fine

Coupler Couple, Earlyish 19th C. Iron Buckboard Wagon Couplers-Cum-Snakes victorian spillikins Two clipped cornersReally fun to find these, purchased from the same Lancaster, PA dealer as a great mid 19th c. crooked neck Knickerbocker stoneware beer bottle that I listed and sold last week. I know from him that they are couplers (joining pieces) from an early American buckboard wagon, which at some point accrued two eyes each, transforming them into snakes! Beautiful forms and very satisfying physicality to the iron to begin with, and of course all the better