What better object, and symbol, and reminder (!) than an hourglass? This is an earlyish 20th century fraternal one, probably Odd Fellows, found in Upstate New York, carved of wood and clad in its original silver and gold paint, nicely mellowed now. There are earlier, much more finely carved (and very precious) examples of these out there, but I  like the simplicity and sort of matter of factness of this one--as if wanting to be very direct in communicating that there is no time to be wasted!  I also like the contrast between one bulb in silver and the other more gold, like sand slipping through.

7 7/8" t x 3 13/16" x 3 3/4" and in good condition. Just a bit of hairline cracking to one to (flat) end and a few spots of minor paint loss.