@ShadyGreenThumb, at first I thought of some sort of nautical use but being black
@DrDawg, I went back and edited my op, I left out the void in the center.
It weighs about 4 or 5 pounds and obviously made to tie, string , etc, together
I don't know if some of y'all remember but they use to have these black spherical lantern , (for lack of a better word)
that held fuel and a wick and they set them out along road construction at night
but they didn't have the loops and they weren't hard rubber they were metal
Things like this pester me till I find out, lol
So any help would be very appreciated
@porkpal, that is a great answer and might be what we settle with, lol