Pap boats are shaped rather like a sauce boat but they have no handles. They were designed in the 17th and 18th centuries for feeding semi solid food to children or invalids; and for that reason, one end of the boat is shaped into a lip for putting in the mouth.
Pap is actually a concoction of flour, breadcrumbs and barley or rice mixed with either milk, broth or water.
Although this is an antique silver example, collectors can also find them in pottery, porcelain, glass, pewter, and even wood or bone.
by William Eaton, London 1815.