27 “Bizarre” Items That Had Everyone Totally Stumped Until The Internet Solved The Mystery

“It’s a decorative ‘lantern.’ This particular one looks like a late 1950s-to-mid-1960s design. This kind of wood-dowel/domed/vaguely Moroccan-influenced decorative hanging lantern was pretty popular back then. Some people put actual small candles in them, but most people just hung them for decorations (because putting candles inside a wooden-topped candle holder is pretty dumb, naturally).

Here’s a link to an eBay listing for one that looks exactly like yours, except the listed item has a hanging ring. Yours might be missing the ring, or perhaps you never had one.

There are similar-looking designs from the 19th century and earlier that had a glass globe or shade inside, which you could lift and put a small candle under. Like the glass chimney from an old-fashioned kerosene lamp, but smaller and inserted into the ‘cage’ of the lantern during the manufacturing process. Again, it would only be used with little tiny candles, though, and nothing that could throw substantial heat up against the dome of the lantern body. Here’s an eBay listing for such a wooden lantern.”

—ReverendDizzle