Victorian china plate could have many uses

Interesting little pieces of history can be found in odd places and occasionally take some research to learn just what they are and what they were used for. I found a small china plate, about 2 inches across, near an old cellar hole in our woods. (The Lyndeborough history of 1905 lists that foundation in a chapter called “old cellar holes,” which places the former house somewhere in the early 1800s.) While the little plate could be part of a child’s tea set, I am inclined to think it is a butter pat. Butter pats were part of the formal Victorian-era table setting. It was placed beside the bread plate to the upper left of the dinner plate.