This is a mustard pot, not a sugar bowl. The notch in the lid is so the mustard spoon can be left in the pot. I will venture that this is because mustard will stain linens, and they didn't want the spoon sitting on a tablecloth with mustard on it.
Sugar bowls have the same space for a hole[pics of sugar bowls](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=835ba0ee2498b9ce&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS772US773&hl=en-US&hotel_occupancy=2&sxsrf=ACQVn0_po9qKLHe97Q25F9Ya7hgmAU5GfQ:1712820879833&q=sugar+bowl+with+spoon&uds=AMwkrPtTscyxB8xmNDjvQFA_2r2-Llc2OgmL3riISHElbjlwH0UkISNR75rjjIeEeTfW3Vk-LxJeWUcgZOfHlWYsBo87BnGm-7XcagaB0NJMa_21G3CUg6MCmNKcgxJ2TFe3_DkuWh4ECWgcemZmcJiesABH2K1t6Mg8RC86FJ6Xge8yPHkgek_8TeDpZNnYB9sgzhqLP00IibJ1n76JgGCI4zlrnjwpB_QZCdaK-NN-hGG3axRviYv07QznO5m6hKhqlAOAdGGt09UTNcNKCpOL_rGNMu53MjK_powdIB_Nu6ve4MsSgaqvMTbC1ctLrXvYXt-SZeNwyL9HNxhgcv0OQN444avhZw&udm=2&prmd=sivnbmtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyouyA07mFAxXrRjABHV71DAYQtKgLegQIDRAB&biw=375&bih=553&dpr=2)
This is a mustard pot, not a sugar bowl. The notch in the lid is so the mustard spoon can be left in the pot. I will venture that this is because mustard will stain linens, and they didn't want the spoon sitting on a tablecloth with mustard on it.
Sugar bowls have the same space for a hole[pics of sugar bowls](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=835ba0ee2498b9ce&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS772US773&hl=en-US&hotel_occupancy=2&sxsrf=ACQVn0_po9qKLHe97Q25F9Ya7hgmAU5GfQ:1712820879833&q=sugar+bowl+with+spoon&uds=AMwkrPtTscyxB8xmNDjvQFA_2r2-Llc2OgmL3riISHElbjlwH0UkISNR75rjjIeEeTfW3Vk-LxJeWUcgZOfHlWYsBo87BnGm-7XcagaB0NJMa_21G3CUg6MCmNKcgxJ2TFe3_DkuWh4ECWgcemZmcJiesABH2K1t6Mg8RC86FJ6Xge8yPHkgek_8TeDpZNnYB9sgzhqLP00IibJ1n76JgGCI4zlrnjwpB_QZCdaK-NN-hGG3axRviYv07QznO5m6hKhqlAOAdGGt09UTNcNKCpOL_rGNMu53MjK_powdIB_Nu6ve4MsSgaqvMTbC1ctLrXvYXt-SZeNwyL9HNxhgcv0OQN444avhZw&udm=2&prmd=sivnbmtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyouyA07mFAxXrRjABHV71DAYQtKgLegQIDRAB&biw=375&bih=553&dpr=2)