This object supposedly belonged to an archbishop, judging by the engraving of ten tassels and an ecclesiastical hat on the bottom of the foot.The number 10 is symbolic and represents the 10 commandments..
This spool-shaped foot supports the octagonal pillar from which the eight segments unfold.Kathryn C. Buhler, “The Frank Brewer Bemis Collection of Silver.” Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts 34, no. 205 (1936): 78..In general, pomanders were bought and used by the richer classes and were sometimes depicted in portraiture. They also fall under several categories, having been described as jewelry, fashion, and accessory. In their work entitled “Sixteenth-Century Body Decorations”, Sara and Tom Pendergast call the pomander “One of the most unique fashion accessories [which] was attached to the belt with a cord or tie.”