Early (1600-1700s) Carved Navigational Sextant Component with Angles and Monogram umbrellas It is easy to believe

It is easy to believe that people used to put these out for guests to see if they'd try to bite into them

which appear native to it

including as a conversation piece and engaging group activity

Wear and roughness along top and bottom center

but which one also could perhaps instead take for flowering cacti

Early (1600-1700s) Carved Navigational Sextant Component with Angles and Monogram umbrellas It is easy to believeI really love measuring tools of all sorts, and know there are a few of you out there who do, too and this is such an old one, I could not resist. I am quite sure it is a piece of a navigational instrument, and believe part of a sextant, used to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celestial navigation. (A moveable arm, probably made of brass, would have attached to the corner from the back.) Really rare