To summarise: The AOTC is a physical object that has, through association with a phrase or saying, become not fictional but certainly metaphorical to the extent that it can appear on the internet (and not just as a picture). The original object may be/have been made of wood, metal or a combination of both. It is/was not a household object or related to boats and does not begin with P. Both the object and it's usage in the phrase date to before 1900, but it was not used on the internet until sometime later.

If any of the above appears to contradict anything I've said before, then assume my previous answers were accidentally wrong and use the new information.