They may have been bought at the same time just to decorate the coffee table. It's possible the matching ashtray, if there was one, got broken. I have to say I am :mrgreen:
Although it probably doesn't apply in this case, it's worth remembering there was a time when ashtrays were subject to additional tax, so if it didn't have slots, it wasn't an ashtray (cough, cough). It's a bit like the celery vases that aren't flower vases (cough, cough).