This was in the housewares section of the local church thrift shop (the cylinder is wood, the sleeve a hard plastic, the rings are rubber). General consensus amongst the staff and customers was that it is for rolling something, likely a type of pastry.
But the rather astonishing discovery of just exactly what this item is - found in with the sewing supplies so thought to have something to do with the fibre arts (hah!) - has us open to the possibility that it could be something quite different than for pasty.
It has been suggested that I send a photo to the place online where mystery kitchen items are identified – and I would if I could find out what that site is!
Any idea?