Antique Cast Iron Fisted Hand with Cross at Wrist primitive carving it's got a super earthy

it's got a super earthy feel and reminds me of the pottery that surrounded me in my youth

9" x 7" x 5/8"

but what a wonderful proclamation

with various dings and scrapes and wear that just add to its charms

and to my eye this one is about perfect as it gets

Antique Cast Iron Fisted Hand with Cross at Wrist primitive carving it's got a super earthyA curious thing, this old cast iron fisted hand weighs nearly 4 pounds, and based on another similar I have found out there sold by another dealer, I believe it might originally have been a gate weight perhaps for a church gate, with the cross at the base but I'm not 100% certain. There is a recess on the reverse side of the hand perhaps to which somehow a chain once attached. The other similar I found was dated to Civil War era, and I might guess