Were these ever bottles?

[mike_at_sea]

This is my first post here. I was looking to identify these two glass items. It has been suggested they may have been bottles at one time. I have been researching them online and have 20 different theories on what they were. Can anybody help? They appear to be mold blown and you can see swirls and inclusions in each. The flat back is what really seems to confuse things. The three-toed eagle design is only on the front. There are no mfg marks of any kind. Thanks in advance for any help.
Mike

 

[mike_at_sea]

Side and bottom picture of same.

 

[mike_at_sea]

The tops seem to have been ground down to make them both the same height. Was this to cover up a broken neck or for some other reason.
Mike

 

[mike_at_sea]

Thanks for your patience. Last picture of front and side. They seem to be a matching set even though the colors are different. I have contacted museums, collectors, been to antique and glass shows and written to anyone else I can think of and no one can seem to identify what they are. I have 20 different answers from 20 different people and was hoping someone here on the forums might have seen something like this in their travels.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[woody]

They are not old and I doubt if they were bottles at one time.
Looks to be some sort of vase to put flowers in.
The bottom of the piece is a dead giveaway that they are not old, along with the flat backs.
These might have been sold as gifts from a museum, such as the Modern Museum of Art.

 

[Maine Digger]

Hi Mike welcome, I have to agree with woody, the bases are 'new'.[&:] I suspect they were modeled after the commemorative flasks of the early 1800s. The way you placed them back to back in the 3rd (?) photo shouted BOOKENDS to me.

 

[BRIAN S.]

Hi Mike and welcome to the forum !
I have to agree .... They aren't early glass ( the base is a dead give away for sure )! I tend to agree with Norm ... Bookends was my first thought also . But , They also look like vases.....Vase bookends ????? Good question.....maybe another forum member has the answer .
Just because they aren't early glassware ....doesn't mean that they don't have any monetary value. There are some flask/bottle collectors that would love to add them to there house decor. Brian

 

[mike_at_sea]

Thanks all for taking the time to answer me. It is nice to be able to have some kind of identification after all of these years. We just keep them on a shelf along with all of the other things we have collected. I wasnt even looking for a value on them just to see what they were. The mystery has been more intriguing than anything else since no one we have spoken to has ever seen these exact or even similar pieces before. I still have lots of votes for tobacco jars though lol.
Thanks again for your help.
Mike

 

[appliedlips]

Mike,

I have actually had one of these exact bottles and one time.They are undoubtably not early glass.They were made like that with a ground lip.Talked to someone else who had one back then and they told me it was from a museum gift shop.

 

[mike_at_sea]

Thanks appliedlips. Do you have any idea what museum it might have come from or any other info. I have not seen any at the antique/glass shows we have attended so they cant be too common.
Mike