Rare Asian Wood Carved Cotton Gin

We will be consulting an auction house before selling this item as it is very rare.
 
This tool was used to separate seeds from raw cotton by inserting the material between the adjustable bars at the top and using the handle to roll it through. Cleaned cotton would then be aired in the sun before it could be spun and used.
 
We could not find anything online using the same kind of wood or carved in a similar manner. We suspect this may be Indonesian or from Northeastern India where the Meitei Tibeto-Burman people call it a ‘kaptreng’. 
 
The solid wood base is decorated in wood carved patterns including seeds and what we believe are cotton plants.
 
This piece is in good condition, although it could use some wood oil. The handle still turns. We believe there is supposed to be a wood card like insert inbetween the slot in the base and the rollers to keep seeds separated from the ‘cleaned’ cotton. We are not certain what the slots on the inner sides of the uprights or the notch in the front of the base were for. The uprights are joined via tenon, or slots, in the base. There is also a hole in the handle which may have been for another handle for easier turning. There are chips in the wood base along the front edge, but we believe these are natural imperfections.
 
If Indonesian, this would probably have been purchased in the 1920s or 1930s by the Burr sisters. If Northeastern Indian, it would have been bought at the same time by the Burr sisters, or in the 1970s by our mother.
 
Note: The color of this piece changes dramatically in and out of the lights, much more warm under photography lights and more grey and washed out in natural light.
 
H 11” x L 14” x W 7”
4 lbs
 
Disclaimer: We have tried to make sure colors shown in photos are representative of the real colors of each item. We have tried to identify all imperfections in descriptions, but we may have missed some. If you are unhappy with your purchase, let us know.