Hello Byron. You have got the right idea.
It's an ice bowl.
In 1870 natural ice was expensive and a luxury in America.
Chips off the ice block would be put in this bowl for the table.
Wasn't until the late 1890's that mechanical refrigeration started appearing in some American homes.
Sometimes called "The Alaska Movement" this style was inspired by the United States purchase of Alaska in 1867.
The handles on the bowl are polar bears.
The tongs were meant to represent harpoons.
The gold rushes in Alaska didn't start until the 1890's.
Here's a Gorham ice bucket from 1871.
Pat.
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