Arita Ware Porcelain Chopstick Rest, Sauce

At a glance

• Dark sauce bottle is recreated as a tiny porcelain object with an almost toy-like realism
• The half-squeezed shape creates a useful hollow that stops chopsticks rolling
• Mix it with Ketchup, Mayonnaise and Tartar Sauce for a playful table collection

At first glance, it looks more like a tiny sauce bottle than a piece of tableware.

The dark brown body and bright cap make the familiar form easy to recognise, while the deliberately squeezed middle gives it the slightly imperfect look of a bottle already in use. That hollow also does the practical work, giving chopsticks somewhere stable to rest between bites.

The piece is made in Arita by Kitagawa Bisen Kiln, with slight variations in glaze and finish expected from one piece to the next.

It is useful enough for everyday meals, but the real appeal is how little space it needs to add character to the table. Choose Sauce alone or build up the four condiment designs over time.