Can anyone help with identifying a square metal gauze connected to a round metal object, a wire on a stopcock, and potential asbestos tiles in a 1940s house?

So, is this an actual fuse box? Not a breaker box? The main box where the street wire connects to the building? I’m not very familiar with older electrical systems prior to having a separate ground wire, like the third prong in outlets. I don’t want to get too technical, but it’s likely the fuse box was never properly grounded. In newer systems, there’s a bar inside the breaker box where the bare ground wires from cables are connected. That’s the grounding bus. A thick wire is attached to the grounding bus and the other end literally goes into the ground. Typically, a metal rod is driven into the ground and the wire is clamped to it, but it varies based on the situation and local electrical codes. Metal plumbing can also serve as a ground (like the pipe from the street or well) as long as there’s no Pex or similar material from a recent repair. I assume someone tried to ground the fuse box by attaching a wire to the pipe and connecting the other end to a newly added grounding bus in the fuse box. In some cases, metal pipes were considered an acceptable ground according to local codes, but I think yours was added later, possibly to install a grounded outlet in the laundry or bathroom area. I believe grounding started being required by the NEC (National Electric Code) in a limited capacity around 1947, so it’s possible your house predates that. Additionally, the NEC serves as a guideline for local codes, so it wasn’t universally required. If your system still uses fuse boxes, it would be a good idea to have it inspected soon.