antique charger plate w/ shabby gilt lions, embossed metal tray ornate pierced border

Late 1800s vintage stamped steel tray or charger, with an ornate border of lions heads. This measures about 15 1/2" overall diameter.

This I believe was used as a 'frame', with a print or painting at the center. There's traces of a gilt or gold colored finish at the edge, none in the center.

This has age and finish wear, and I haven't been able to find any makers marks at all. It looks like an old Germany piece to me, but there's quite a few American manufacturers of novelty metalware very early, so it might well have been made in the US.

I really wish I knew more about this piece, it's interesting - very beautiful and very different from most of the antique metal pieces I see. It came out of the collection of a dealer in southern Wisconsin who had a treasure trove of pieces bought up many years ago, when good antiques were more commonly found. This is one of the few pieces I was lucky enough to get at her sale.