I think you are right Andy, it does have a look of Italian. Look at the 'sophisticated' ears. almost human. The Ngwenya ears are usually quite simple in comparison.
If it was for stubbing out cigars or cigarettes,then it might have been washed in very hot water, as stale tobacco smells do linger (don't they Andy!).
I have some glasses that have become iridescent as a result of this 'mistreatment'.

I also have several what I termed 'Tobacco tamps'.....for pushing tobacco down firmly into the pipe, the handle was turned round to be used to scrape out the pipe bowl after smoking.
I bought these over the years to use for mixing my essential oils as I like glass, but that was not their original intention.........Maybe we should start a 'Smoking paraphernalia' thread!!