Strange little RYE Pottery lidded bowl - S impressed mark

Hi

A rather odd little lidded bowl by Rye. I wondered as it is so small with a curved inner if it could be say for caviar or Roe?

Doesn't work for an egg or candle with snuffer lid with quite a high wall into the lid.

The mark was used from 1978 onwards.

The mark is one specifically used by Tarquin Cole (son of Walter Cole) in 1978. The S is unusual as Rye decorators marks were generally only used in the immediate post-war years. The main collector's interest is in the 50's and 60's work with their specific decoration.

Stephen Russel used an"S" thrower's mark.

Maybe a Rye version of an egg coddler.

Maybe a butter dish. More common abroad, in places like Canada but they are ‘upside down’

Could be looks like table service device of some kind but the receptacle is about 5 cm wide and 2 cm deep with the lid cover being about 3.5 - 4 cm high so you couldn't get an egg in the holder and the lid on. A candle maybe I suppose but the inside is rounded and it would take too much time to snuff out - would have to be more of a pebble style candle.

I'm still thinking some food stuff but more along the lines of fish eggs or something rare/expensive than butter. If it was for a condiment why the lid for such a small amount of say butter/mustard/salt or the like.