Featured Mystery Item

I bought a couple of boxes at auction today. They were full of all sorts of mixed items . Included was this faux tortoiseshell item. It’s 24.5cm long . The discs at the top are movable

I’ve done images searches but only get hair implements.

Any thoughts on what it is?

 

I have a small collection of lace-making bobbins and I don't see that...? Maybe a type of lace-making I'm not familiar with?
@Northern Lights Lodge

Random thought: looks like a handle and spinner from a whirligig!

 

Ditto.
I have never seen a lace bobbin this long, and think working with such a length would be very awkward.
There are no ridges to keep the thread in place, like on lace bobbins.
And I don't know of lace bobbins with a reel. The thread is wound on the bobbin itself.

To illustrate what I mean:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbin_lace

 

Are the grooves on the head a spiral thread? In which case it seems something else would have been screwed on and is now missing.


I rather like @bluumz idea of a pinwheel toy. If the light colored ring comes off, you could put the spinning part between the two rings/washers, with a retaining hub screwed onto the end.