Can anyone tell me anything about this?
It is apparently solid silver with a nice wooden handle; it has a hallmark on the bottom that is very tiny, but looks like a tall scales, or possibly just a cross. The design overall is so unusual that I can’t even place it in a particular era.
Thanks!
The mark is the most important part at this point. Try to get a close-up or do a rubbing.
Why do you think it is sterling?
I could be wrong, but that looks more like a tea-kettle than a teapot–the kettle being what you boil the water in. I didn’t think they made those out of silver, since that’s basically a cooking implement, but like I say I could be wrong.
Whichever it is, this site:
Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks, and Makers Marks
may be of some use to you.
Well, I think it’s silver because… I guess because I thought one only finds hallmarks on non-plated objects. looking at that hallmark identification site, it appears that I am mistaken about that. My apologies.
Yes, Spectre of Pithecanthropus, it is in fact a teakettle. Thinking about it, I realize there is no reason to put a wooden handle on a teaPOT. Also, the bottom of the pot is recessed a good half-inch from the bottom rim, which for some reason suggests to me that it’s meant to be over a heat source. I guess the thick rim protects the pot’s bottom surface from heat damage.
Thanks so much for the link to the hallmark site, it was fascinating. However, I perused it very carefully, and could find nothing similar. I broke the cardinal rule of antiques, and polished around the mark just a little with my thumb. The mark is a cross, inside of an elongated (vertically), slightly rounded hexagon; what I thought may be the trays of a scales are not – the cross is flanked by two capital L’s, one on each side.
I will have to wait until daylight to examine the metal; I cannot tell if a slight yellowish cast is part of the oxidation, or the telltale sign of silver-over-brass.
No guesses on the unusual style? Could it be Asian? Deco?
Silverplate carries marks. Look at any old fork. Sterling doesn’t make sense as a cooking implement but to test for sterling you can take it to a local jeweler. Good luck!
My quick cheap read is that it’s Danish Celtic Deco. 
