Topic: Request for help in identifying.

[togei]

Hello,
This is my first post here. If this belongs somewhere else please let me know.
I bought this set of glass rods yesterday at an auction in Japan. My 'specialty' is Japanese antiques and I am pretty sure these aren't Japanese.
The rods range in length from 17.7cm. - 19.7cm. long. There are 4 of them. 3 are purple in the rod area, 1 is green. They all have tapered ends.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/10069054@N02/sets/72157633001230217 is a link to a flickr set of photos.
I know some about Japanese glass but almost nothing about other kinds of glass. I would like help in identifying these. Any pointers would be helpful.
Dave

[NMott]

I haven't seen them in glass, but to me they look like Lace bobbins or hair pins.

[flying free]

Hello and welcome to the board
I'm afraid I can't help on your pins but they are beautiful colours and a real curiosity.
The colours look quite bright, I wonder if the actual colours may help pin down a timeframe they were made perhaps.
I agree they look like some form of bobbin or hairpin but I do wonder about the width of them as I wouldn't be keen to use those to keep my hair up if they are fairly thick.  I wonder whether glass would have been used for hairpins really though.
Hopefully someone will be along soon who might recognise exactly what they were for
m

[togei]

Thank you for your replies. This is the first time I have heard of lace bobbins and will do some looking around.
Width. In the Flickr pictures, the first picture, the triangular, green one, the top is about 1.5 cm. wide. Over all they match the thickness used for hair pins here in Japan so I think that is a possibility.
Color. They are actually not that bright compared with other glass I have seen that is very old.
They are a real curiosity. I bought them at an antiques auction that is for dealers. The case they came in was marked 'Silk Road" and 2 characters that I couldn't read. I don't put a lot of stock in the attribution but it may be right. It isn't unusual for ancient items to be sold at that auction.