Arita Ware Porcelain Chopstick Rest, Tartar Sauce

At a glance

• Creamy miniature tartar sauce bottle is finished with tiny coloured details
• Its squeezed-in centre doubles as a practical groove for resting chopsticks
• One of four condiment designs made to look especially good mixed together

Tartar Sauce is the most detailed of the four condiment rests.

Its pale body is scattered with tiny coloured marks, while the squeezed bottle shape gives the miniature a surprisingly convincing sense of scale. Look closer and the same indentation that makes it appear partly used is exactly where the chopsticks sit.

Made by Kitagawa Bisen Kiln in Arita, it combines a deliberately humorous form with the crisp finish of porcelain. Small differences in glaze and colour are expected from piece to piece.

It works particularly well when the four condiments are mixed across the table, giving each place setting its own small character without needing a fully matching set.