What is this glass object?

October 31, 2013 9:35 AM

It's made of crackle glass and is a foot high. Placed next to a pepper mill for some kind of perspective. Other than a butt plug for giants, what might this be?
posted by uans to Grab Bag (17 answers total)

Looks like a vase sconce to me, but the butt plug is the more likely answer.
posted by Think_Long at 9:38 AM on October 31, 2013 [12 favorites]

Ugly decorative art. Not a very strong material for a butt plug.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 9:44 AM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I should add it is hollow
posted by uans at 9:48 AM on October 31, 2013

Looks like a vase missing its stand.
posted by contraption at 9:49 AM on October 31, 2013 [12 favorites]

Lantern cover imo.
On rethink - it has no hole at the top for smoke, so not a lantern cover. And not a butt plug either, iirc they have to have a hole at both ends to prevent vacuum issues.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 9:54 AM on October 31, 2013

Turn it upside down: a stopper for a glass decanter?
posted by Liesl at 9:56 AM on October 31, 2013

I think it is either just one of those decorative objects that you put on a table that has no purpose or it hangs as like a wall sconce and you have it upside down.
posted by magnetsphere at 9:58 AM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

Looks like a vase sconce to me

Yep, upside down vase sconce.
posted by jessamyn at 10:00 AM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

It's probably not a decanter stopper - They'd want the crackle to stand out, not be hidden, and the open-ended part wouldn't sit or stop very well. They wouldn't put the rounded pointy end for the stopper because it'd let in air and collect stuff in the open-end that was facing out.

I'm pretty sure it's either a wall or hanging vase. It's likely there was either a secondary metal holder that attached to the wall (or sat on the floor or table) or it was hung by a macrame-type rope arrangement around the neck.
posted by julen at 10:04 AM on October 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

And not a butt plug either, iirc they have to have a hole at both ends to prevent vacuum issues.

I'm pretty sure this isn't true.
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:08 AM on October 31, 2013 [6 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone!
posted by uans at 10:10 AM on October 31, 2013

Glass power line insulator?
posted by slkinsey at 10:10 AM on October 31, 2013

Had a smaller one of those. It is a vase, however its missing the wrought iron stand that holds it up (in your picture its upside down).
posted by bleucube at 11:20 AM on October 31, 2013 [4 favorites]

My friend has a thing shaped sort of like that. You fill it up with ice and put it in your punch bowl tilted to the side so the top sticks out and the melted ice won't leak into the punch. Maybe it went with a crackled glass punch bowl.
posted by artychoke at 11:22 AM on October 31, 2013

And not a butt plug either, iirc they have to have a hole at both ends to prevent vacuum issues.

I'm pretty sure this isn't true.

I know someone who has to use anal dilators because of medical issues that cause the muscles in that area to over-tighten. The packaging of the items is very specific about the need for the holes. I guess I'm overgeneralizing in assuming that dilators and butt plugs are always the same.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 12:19 PM on October 31, 2013

Depending on the size, it could be part of a lamp or light fixture. The pointy end would be down.
posted by yohko at 3:26 PM on October 31, 2013

Glass vase wall sconce. Totally.

PS: You can DIY a holder for it.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:33 PM on October 31, 2013