Looks to me that indeed the tube had been pumped, sealed off (the copper evacuation tube is crimped off) and wired to the base cap (solder blobs are visible at the ends of the wires). Perhaps this is a test reject that was un-based for this photo? Another remote possibility could be that this was a re-work loop where the weld of a gassy tube was touched up and the tube would then be re-gunned and re-processed.
jr