That's a telescope mount with an altitude/azimuth mount for the scope.
Jered-
With a wild guessing swing at it ................ a holographic telescope ?
Derek
I like the braces to help hold it together. Not so sure I could deal with such a short HI though.
A few years back I bought a bunch of stuff from an old retired surveyor. It included an old Kern level & tripod. Odd stuff, all curvey and just messes with my mindset. I guess they're supposed to be really good, but I prefer my robot. I should sell it, any buyers?
It's for Amateur Astronomy
That is an Equatorial mount for an astronomical telescope. It is adjustable for Latitude. When properly adjusted, it is capable of following a star with a single fine adjustment commonly motorized or manipulated with a flexible cable. The two axes are for Right Ascension and for Declination.
If it's short (I can't tell), then it's intended for a Newtonian reflector telescope.
It looks home made from 3 crutches.