Very happy to show you this nice dish from the early 17th century. A similar dish is documented in Oriental Porcelain, a choice from the Boymans-Beuningen Musuem collection, page 15.

Storage box included.

A small saucer with a broad, unglazed firing ring. In its centre a raised, convex section. Decorated in underglaze blue, with geometric motifs, flowers and good fortune Buddhist symbols around the central rosette. This saucer is similar to kraak porcelain in terms of firing and painting. However, the decoration has not been divided into enclosed sections, so the saucer is not classed in this group. It has been suggested that this type of porcelain was meant for India or Persia; China sold a great deal of porcelain to these countries, partly through the VOC. Such pieces appear in a number of Dutch collections, however, from which we may conclude that they also featured in the range of wares produced for the Dutch market.

The function of the raised middle section is no longer clear. Some believe that such saucers were matching pieces for ewers, since they resemble European saucers designed for this purpose.

However, the saucer’s proportions do not support this theory. It is more feasible that this saucer was used as a butter dish, an item which is repeatedly mentioned in the archives of the VOC, but whose precise form is unknown. A painting in Boymans-van Beuningen Museum does indeed show a kraak porcelain saucer bearing a lump of butter; however, the middle section cannot be seen.