Paint Cup

[dirtscratcher]

You know you have found a paint cup when the paint is still in it. I found this one here on the farm in the mid 1980's. When I was scrubbing it in water with a small brush to clean the clay out of the top, the water started running pink, so I stopped cleaning it. That's why there is still some clay in the crevices of the cup part. Overall, it looks like a small ice cream cone. Looking at it from the round end, it looks like it may have been marked with nostrils and slashes for eyes. It's hard to tell what is farm machine damage and what may have been original.
It has four notches equally spaced around the top as well. The exterior surface has a rather dark looking patina from being handled by the original user. It's made of sandstone

[Steve Valentine]

You sure it's not a small Pestle?

[Rockit Man]

Originally Posted by Steve Valentine

You sure it's not a small Pestle?

that would be my guess also. incredible find any way you choose to look at it IMO.

[holedigger]

Nice.

[drdave514]

I'm with Steve on it being a pestle.

[dirtscratcher]

No, it's a little too hollowed out to be a pestle, and it had quite a bit of red ochre in it before I scrubbed it. It was covered in clay when i started. It also has too rough a surface inside to have been been used as a pestle. They may have ground the ocher in it I suppose against the rough surface, then used what collected in it for paint.