Initially the subject of this 
is a hunk of reddish dried clay, as it apparently was dug out of the soil where it has lain for probably decades. Only once the involved process of cleaning, taking apart, polishing, painting and putting together again is complete, can we see just how old this contraption actually was. It turns out to be a wall-mounted kitchen scale, which in the end is working, sort of...
It consistently indicates too little weight, which might be fixed by either repainting a calibrated new scale on the face, or by replacing the springs by new ones of the proper strenght. Unfortunately the restorer did not show this last bit of extra care, but the fact that the device is working again is no small achievement given the state it was in!