What is the wooden thing Ugolin is wearing at the beginning of Jean de Florette?

June 30, 2009 2:47 PM

What is the wooden thing Ugolin is wearing at the beginning of Jean de Florette?

In the very beginning of Jean de Florette, Ugolin comes to the Soubeyran farm to see his uncle, Papet.

He's home from the army, and he's wearing what looks like a giant chess pawn on a rope around his neck. It also looks like a big fancy-restaraurant-sized peppermill.

There are several shots of him wearing it, and when he gets to the shack he stays in at the Soubeyran place, he hangs it on a chair.

What is that thing? Is it related to his army service?

I googled for images of Ugolin to try to find a shot of him wearing it, but it's at the very beginning of the movie and nothing is happening yet, so I think people just don't take screencaps of those scenes.

posted by SlyBevel to media & arts (6 comments total)

Not sure what it is, but the scene in question is on YouTube, about 4 minutes in.
posted by Paragon at 3:57 PM on June 30

Spare table leg?
posted by axiom at 6:41 PM on June 30

Is that maybe a cap container/dispenser for a cap and ball rifle?
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 8:04 PM on June 30

A commenter on the IMDB board answered it as being a quille, a sort of commemorative ninepin-inspired object with personalized various engravings that was given to a soldier upon discharge from the army, as explained on this site (warning: site is in French, and inexplicably plays The Kinks).
posted by notquitemaryann at 8:09 PM on June 30

did a little google searching for french world war one clothing and the closest thing I found was something called a practice hand grenade or potato masher or hairbrush grenade
posted by ljesse at 8:13 PM on June 30

never mind. I think notquitemaryann has it.
posted by ljesse at 8:17 PM on June 30