Adaptive use of a drainer for a soap dish isn't too weird. Although Kris' 
example was intended for draining foods (butter being perhaps the most 
common usage), there were soap dishes produced during the Victorian era with 
their own drainers ... an excellent flow blue example is here:

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/glebebellsporcelain/item/2004-663


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michelle Terrell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 10:50 AM
Subject: Re: A "what is that" question


Hi all, Eve here, it is a butter keeper, the disk with the hole allowed the 
moisture to drain off the churned butter. They could also be used for 
cheese, and I saw someone using the bottom parts as a soap dish once.

Best

Eve


--- On Thu, 11/20/08, K. Kris Hirst <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: K. Kris Hirst <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: A "what is that" question
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:28 AM

Hi guys!

I'm a long time lurker, but haven't posted in a very very long time.
Somebody posted on my bulletin board some pictures of a delftware
(reproduction probably) ceramic vessel with a configuration I've never
seen.
Could somebody take a look and see what they think?


http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=7127.3&nav=messages&webtag=ab-a
rchaeology

The poster describes it as "It has a lid, a bottom that is not quite a
plate, not quite a bowl, and resting in the bottom is a disk, with a hole in
the middle of it" and I guess, that's pretty good. There are pictures
to be
seen, but I just don't recognize it at all.

Thanks,

Kris


K. Kris Hirst
Guide to Archaeology
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