No Marks?Examine the edge of sole & bottom in good light,inside the shoe also & see if any name or number on it. I'm thinking it could have been a paperweight used by shoe cobbler. I had 5 little pug dogs of 3 different materials, bronze,silverish metal & more brass looking & no one could tell me what they were. About 2 in. high 2 in(or less wide) or slightly smaller. Since your's is just 3 in. I'm thinking probably used same way mine were. I would imagine in small shops they wrote up order for repair & to keep it from getting lost put it under a paperweight. When customer paid they put the order on a spike that had a metal base as I remember some shop owners doing that when I was a kid. In a shoe repair shop where glues were used it would be easy for work order to get messed up but if you had a little shelf & had this weight holding top of it with bottom part hanging down in front of you, you would have clear view of what needed to be done on that shoe, belt, purse etc. And they are very heavy(mine were & I think I found a pig same way) may be weighted or contain a good deal of lead. Brass is very heavy especially if solid but could be weighted in center. Without AC in old days lot of shops were "pretty open" & wind blowing through would blow your paperwork all over. These probably solved the problem. I remember man back home hung orders on nails but if wind came through sometimes I was chasing after them. It was a used furniture store & I think it was people's names & what item they wanted with their phone number. The man had them in a row. I waited there for my dad each day to take me home, it was the furniture store's outlet. I suppose some people had nice stuff they were dumping when the new stuff arrived so a used furniture store was born.I loved roaming around in there! Also in So. Dak. at that time you were taxed each yr on all your furnishings so lot of folks couldn't get new as the personal property tax would "take food off from the table" they finally got rid of that few yrs ago.

I also thought paperweight when I saw it. I have a brass paperweight from, I'll bet, the same era. Mine is a lady's leg, lol, wearing a high-tip button shoe. It's also about three inches long and quite heavy for its size.

It appears to be ormolu.
As to the issue of what it is....it just is....a small sculpture that COULD be used as a paper weight.
Check this link for "the same thing only different".
http://www.goantiques.com/category,objects-of-vertu-9.html
The image of a mouse in a shoe is about as old as shoes. LOL!
It's nice...well worked and will go well in a print drawer.
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: Ormolu

My goodness gracious.....I actually found out what this treasure is.....

Antique Solid Brass Boot Match Holder with match striker down the back. One on eBay says that hers is marked "Peerage England" on the base.

.....and that's the rest of the story as Paul Harvey used to say.

Glad you got the answer!! Shows early Americans had a sense of humor, mouse by your toothpick!! Very cute!! Toothpick holder didn't even enter my mind but now I do remember they are listed in antique books at the end after the glass & china ones.

Well.....whoever has the one for sale on ebay might believe it's a match holder and that DOES look like a striker on the back....but if so then why is there no wear on the striker? and why an ormolu match holder with striker?...Or did someone spray it gold?
Can you post a link to the ebay sale?
Linda C

Hi, there were a couple of them on the eBay-UK site, but this is one I just happened to come across.

Here is a link that might be useful: Boot matchholder & striker

Well....that sure looks like it came from the same mold as yours did!But the bright finish puzzles me....I wonder if it's been polished? or if it's bronze that has has a bright patina added?
Linda c

The color of your shoe suggests bronze, not brass. Bronze is more durable, harder, and expensive than brass. Bronze is a copper-tin alloy whereas brass is copper-zinc.

Electrical grade brass is 70%-30% copper-zinc and common "low" or yellow brass is 60%-40% copper-zinc. Red or naval brass is 90%-10% copper-zinc.

The bright spot is likely where someone has rubbed the patina off.