What Is It? game 221

It's once again time for our collaboration with the always amusing What Is It? Blog. Can you guess what the pictured item is? Or can you make up something interesting?

Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many guesses as you'd like in separate comments. Post no URLs or weblinks, as doing so will forfeit your entry. Two winners: the first correct guess and the funniest (albeit ultimately wrong) guess will win T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess. If you don't include a selection, you forfeit the prize, okay? May we suggest the Science T-Shirt, Funny T-Shirt and Artist-Designed T-Shirts?

For more clues, check out the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!

Update: the unidentified object is now identified as a billiards pocket (found on eBay). The first correct answer came from Berhard, who wins a t-shirt! Of many funny answers, the funniest was from Lord_Dissident, who said,

It is actually the iron mask that was used to hide the face of the man in the iron mask. The front was opened only at feeding time, food was placed into the bowl, and it was slammed shut again. That is why he never ate soup again after he got out of that mask.

That certainly deserves a t-shirt! Find out the purposes of all this week's mystery items at the What Is It? blog.