Arabia egg cups: small vessels, plenty of use

A vessel that sits in your palm. About five centimetres tall.

Egg cups are the easiest way into Nordic ceramics. They ask less of you than a large plate does — in price, in shelf space, in commitment. And they still show you what the factory was like.

Egg cups and the Nordic table

Boiled eggs are a fixture of breakfast here. A soft-boiled egg stands in its shell in the cup, you take the top off and eat it with a spoon. Households own several because the habit exists.

In Japan the object is less familiar. Which is exactly what makes it interesting — more on that below.

Series by series

Some of what has passed through the shop.

Ruija — comes in a deep brown and a lighter one. The firing varies noticeably even within the series; lined up, the difference itself becomes the point.

Rosmarin — subdued colouring, and comfortable on a Japanese table.

Anemone — a floral design. On something this small the pattern doesn't overstate itself.

Ruska — that brown glaze, carried onto a small form. For anyone who already has the plates.

Kalevala — from 1980, named after the Finnish epic.

Uses beyond eggs

This may be the real point, for anyone who doesn't eat boiled eggs daily.

As a sake cup. The capacity is about right. Nordic ware and Japanese sake go together more easily than you would think.

For condiments. Chopped spring onion, shichimi, salt, sansho. One small vessel on the table changes how it reads.

For a small dessert. A scoop of ice cream, or a little fruit. The size stops a small portion from looking mean.

For jewellery. Somewhere to put rings and earrings by the sink or the bed.

As a bud vase. One short-stemmed flower. The narrow mouth holds it more steadily than expected.

Collecting them

Egg cups suit collecting better than matching.

Rather than several of the same shape, one different series at a time. Everything we stock is one of a kind, so matching isn't possible anyway — which means each one becomes a marker of when you found it.

Egg cups at Wasurenagusa

Being small, they survive in good condition less often. Chipped rims, wear inside. The owner checks each one by hand; anything of note is described on the product page.