Arabia gave its designers something most factories never would, studio space inside the works and the freedom to make art as well as tableware. That art department is a large part of why mid-century Finnish ceramics still set the standard, and Kaarina Aho was part of it.

This is her fish, a flat glazed tile shaped and textured like one, with the scales worked in relief across the face and a hole at the tail to hang it by. It is a trivet and cheese or serving board rather than a dish, the kind of quietly clever piece Arabia did so well. Made through the 1950s and out of production by 1957, it carries the Arabia crown on the base.