A glazed creamware item of amorphous shape--one oval blob atop another--when turned over reveals itself as an object sure to capture the imagination. The concave side serves as a mold--presumably for some aspic like concoction--featuring the full body of a lobster rendered in considerable detail. Put to use, it would produce the raised figure of the crustacean resting on an oval, scalloped edge base.

Such fanciful molds, used to produce the flourishes desired in formal dining were customary objects from the late eighteenth through most of the nineteenth centuries. What is unexpected here is the small size.

Insights into this little mold are especially challenging. 

What is the age? The continuing production of earthenware for useful wares from the late eighteenth century through the nineteenth makes precise dating difficult.

How was this small size food mold used? Was it intended to introduce young girls to domestic customs through play like toy tea and dinner services? Or was it actually a small mold used to prepare some delicacy for the grown up table. The absence of a makers mark would not be unexpected for either a toy or a piece of utilitarian ware

Mysteries aside, the charm of the little mold is clear.