Dish on footring, swelling base, ribbed sides and rim, lobed edge. Chinese Imari, decorated in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold with two crabs and peonies. On the rim four composite groups of flowers, including peonies and chrysanthemums. The reverse is undecorated. The object is shaped as a chrysanthemum. This type of dish, called a ‘butter-dish’ in The Netherlands, is also found in Delft earthenware. Besides a large knob of butter, this specific shape with its raised middle section could also be used for milk-pudding, tulband{} and similar baked products served with butter or syrup sauces. The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam has two similar dishes with the same decoration but which are not ribbed and have a different rim. This is interesting as such dishes were only made to special order. Perhaps it was necessary to vary their shape for commercial reasons, though the decoration remained the same.