Vintage Porcelain Egg Coddler with Metal Lid

"We used to eat poached eggs every day!" Patricia exclaims of this compact egg coddler from Chanteduc, the Wells farmhouse and cooking school in Vaison-la-Romaine.

The coddler is a neat, barrel-shaped pot in ribbed white porcelain, its vertical fluting giving the piece a crisp, almost architectural quality. The metal lid fits snugly over the rim and is topped with a simple open ring handle.

An egg coddler works by holding a cracked egg — seasoned, perhaps with a little cream or herbs — sealed inside its pot and set in simmering water until just set. The result is something between a poached and a soft-boiled egg. It would be equally at home on a contemporary breakfast table or grouped with other white ceramic pieces.