I may need a little help with these. I believe these are a pair of Art Deco place card holders. They are nickel plated and depict stylized birds of some sort. These are most like European, and they have a whimsical, Machine Age design to them. Circa 1930's. I believe the narrow slits on the top of them would have been used for holding a place card for banquets or formal dinners. Downton Abbey anyone?