It's a ball resting on a wooden base constrained by two curved wires embedded in it the base. It has no purpose except to excite the curiosity of people who don't have a life.
Obviously, it's a clamp for holding logs for cutting and debarking, etc.. Or, it could be a pencil sharpener....or, maybe a walrus tooth extractor...or an obsolete device that served some obtuse purpose for which there is no longer any use due to "progress" of human technology, like dental floss and "Ninja Wars v.3.2.1" iPhone aps.
http://www.neatoshop.com/product/3D-Skull-and-Bones