Looking further into this, apparantly there were small cannons like this used in period, though it would seem the 'dates' on this suggest it is modern, unless those are artillery figures. It does seem that numbers found on cannon, not to mention the curious numerics found on such things as those 'bombardier' stillettos have led to many misconceptions in trying to identify various artillery and associated items.
It appears that small cannons of this minute size were sometimes used as artillery training devices for noble children, according to an entry in the Paul Ambrose antiques website (Connecticut). I found several small 'model' cannon like this which were Dutch, and this resembles a Dutch cannon style of 17th century. Small cannon of this size were known in arms cabinets of Louis XIV.
While not suggesting this is necessarily an antique, I wanted to note that minute cannons like this were apparantly extant, whether simply as training or novelty items for noble children or often mentioned as signal type cannon.
Whatever the case, it is a most attractive item.
All best regards,
Jim
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