It's made of wood and is hollowed out inside to about half way down. It has writing on the bottom claiming it's over 200 years old, but doesn't say what it is.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jynx72,

Could it hold a candle?

I am certainly not sure but I think it could be a hat making form. You might want to look some up and see if they are similar.

That's what I was thinking, but the top opening is about 1 1/4" wide. It would have to be a fat candle.

Not sure about the hat form. Here are some on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=hat+form

As old as it appears to be, if there's not some candle wax anywhere on it, I doubt seriously that it's a candle holder.