Can anyone explain this?

I’m not real up to date on furniture or jewelry but isn’t that a clip on the back like you would clip it to your blouse?

I can’t think of how you would install that on a drawer.
That's what I thought too. The clip is kind of weird because it seems almost too small to be practical for any purpose.
 
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To me it looks to be made of brass or at least one of the bronzes. It is oxidised with age, but when new it would have shone brightly. The cone shapes on the front would catch the light and make it sparkle, but you are right they could be used as settings for stones - but not diamonds or it would be silver at least. Most likely garnets or rock crystal. The back is typical for small cast pieces - and you may find fingerprints because it was cast from a wax form. (Lost wax method).

And I think it may be a shoe buckle. Not for holding the shoe on, as there were laces for that, but for decoration. This would explain the small clip, but would also be though a slot in the leather to hold it in. The problem now is that heavy ones like that are a couple of hundred years old, So the mystery of how it got there becomes more of a problem.
Possible it is younger, but not much than the 1920's. Things got lighter and more decorative after that, but it could go back to the 1800's.
Could be a show and tell item that was lost in the ether.
 
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Lots of great advice. Thanks for posting this because we sure do like a mystery.:)
I was thinking of a decorative buckle for a pair of girls Mary Janes.
The local historical societies are a godsend. There may even be one for your county.
The TV show Pickers has a shop somewhere in Iowa. Maybe you could even send a picture.
If you ever get any answers keep us posted:)
 
And I think it may be a shoe buckle.
That also crossed my mind today, as that would work nicely with that clasp.

Speaking of clasps, I did a bit of research on that one today. It is definitely not for a brooch or any type of wearable jewelry. That type of backing was used much as Rowan describes...it slide into something else and was held there as decoration. Now, purses, shoes, etc., often have adornments such as this. The little indentation you see at the triangle shape edge of that fitting had a small "bump" normally on the inner side to lock on or hold onto whatever it was pushed on to.
 
To me it looks to be made of brass or at least one of the bronzes. It is oxidised with age, but when new it would have shone brightly. The cone shapes on the front would catch the light and make it sparkle, but you are right they could be used as settings for stones - but not diamonds or it would be silver at least. Most likely garnets or rock crystal. The back is typical for small cast pieces - and you may find fingerprints because it was cast from a wax form. (Lost wax method).

And I think it may be a shoe buckle. Not for holding the shoe on, as there were laces for that, but for decoration. This would explain the small clip, but would also be though a slot in the leather to hold it in. The problem now is that heavy ones like that are a couple of hundred years old, So the mystery of how it got there becomes more of a problem.
Possible it is younger, but not much than the 1920's. Things got lighter and more decorative after that, but it could go back to the 1800's.
Could be a show and tell item that was lost in the ether.

A decorative buckle of some type is a good possibility, that hadn't occurred to me initially. I thought it was bigger than it is based on the first couple photos, as well.
 
Have you tried a reverse image search??? Sometimes you may not get an exact match but you may get a similar hit or an idea as to what it may actually be.
 
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Debi, do you think it might fit on a hat band? You know how hats for the ladies got real big for awhile? I’m thinking like 1920’s New York (no idea if that’s anywhere near accurate).

So the question is, do you want to clean it? I know some old things they say don’t alter it in any way and some you want to clean so you would have to use your judgment but I’m wondering if a mark might show up if you got it all cleaned up. If you zoom in right underneath that clasp, it would be nice to see that cleaned off.

You guys ever watch the Antique Roadshow? I used to love that show.
 
do you think it might fit on a hat band?
It could. I'm just looking at how it attaches and it is a decorative hardware according to my research.

Now, we've all gotten involved in the mystery of what it is, but I still say possible apport when it comes to the event of it showing up.
 
I’m a bit late to this mystery. I have experienced many apports in my life. I have also had things taken. I saw a pair of missing glasses fall out of the air when I demanded them back. My husband witnessed this with me. I know this is a real occurrence, what is causing it is the mystery. You mentioned this was an old school. is it possible that it fell off a shelf or something? Did you ask your classmates if it belonged to any of them? I’m just ruling out the simplest answers first.