Umm, What Is This?

Many years (a few decades actually) my grandparents owned an antique shop in Pennsylvania. During this time they travel through most of the northern East Coast, usually in Connecticut, collecting from auctions. The picture that I posted above has been a mystery to my family for years. We have no idea what it is or where to take it to get it identified. So, I’m turning to the internet for help.

Here is what we do know:
It is Asian, but from where in Asia we have no idea. The other thing we know is that it is attached to a religion or so we were told. A few years ago we met a women in New York at a swap meet who had a similar one, but it only had one head. I asked her about it, but she acted like I was a moron and said it had to do with her religion and would sell it to me for $200. Before I could ask anymore my grandmother jumped in and told her that she had one with three heads. Suddenly the women’s eyes widened and she looked at us like we were to saps hold a million dollar lottery ticket that she was going to get. She offered us $500 sight unseen.
Now, I must say I don’t know if her story was real or if it is really worth even that much or even if ours is real. We just don’t know.

More about the item:
It is 10 inches tall and pretty heavy. I think it is bronze, but I’m not 100% sure. The top has 3 heads with some kind of animal (thinking a horse) on top. The bottom is blunt although it looks sharper in the photos.
Oh, and I think it may be meant to hang on a wall. The back is flatfish although it has the same attention to detail as the front and by the way the top is crafted it looks like it could very easily hang on a nail.

So, that is it. If anyone out there knows what this is please clue me in. Or if you have an idea of where to take it or who to talk to (I’m in Seattle) please shoot me an e-mail.