Many individuals keep in mind seeing a specific glass dish their grandmother or mom had in a china cupboard or on a desk. The dish was within the type of a hen sitting on a nest, crammed with sweet or nuts, or used as an ornamental piece.
These hen on nest lined dishes are popularly collected right this moment for his or her nostalgic enchantment, utilitarian objective, and the enjoyable of trying to find all of the completely different varieties: a whole bunch of patterns and sizes have been made in varied colours.
Hen on nest dishes are additionally price clucking about—some items can fetch 1000’s of {dollars}.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HEN DISHES
Dishes within the type of a hen laying contently on her nest, often known as animal dishes, trinket bowls, and nesting hens, originated a number of centuries in the past in China and gained recognition in Europe in the course of the late 18th century. These early dishes, manufactured from stoneware pottery, had been each sensible, ornamental, and dear items that solely the rich may afford.
The dishes had been generally made in smaller sizes, which had been used as salt cellars or for storing trinkets, and bigger sizes for sweet, nuts, different small treats, or holding butter.
Hen on nest dishes grew to become widespread in the US after they had been imported from Staffordshire, England, and different locations abroad within the nineteenth century. After machine-made pressed glass was developed within the late 1800s, the mass manufacturing of hen dishes boomed. They had been made in several colours and kinds and likewise grew to become extra reasonably priced. The ever present hen-on-nest motif additionally appeared on cast-iron banks, sweet molds, and different objects.
In the US, Central and Boston & Sandwich glass firms had been more than likely the primary to provide hen on nest dishes. Across the flip of the century, Anchor-Hocking, Atterbury, Boyd, Fenton, Greentown, Indiana Glass, and plenty of different American producers additionally capitalized on their recognition and made their very own variations of the dishes they packaged mustard and different condiments in.
These items didn’t get their “hen on nest” title till the Nineteen Thirties when Westmoreland Glass coined the time period. Collectors additionally seek advice from them as HON, rooster on nest, hen in nest, rooster on nest, and different variations.
The dishes have been made worldwide and aren’t simply restricted to hens. There are variations with a rooster or a number of chicks sitting on a nest, and deer, geese, frogs, rabbits, and different animals had been additionally made.
Hen dishes had been produced in quite a lot of glass, together with carnival, Melancholy, milk, and Vaseline. The commonest hens are clear glass and white milk glass examples, which regularly have crimson combs and wattles to resemble actual chickens. However they had been additionally made in a variety of colours, together with amber, amethyst, blue, inexperienced, pink, purple, and even black, and with quite a lot of finishes like fired-on portray, frosting, hand-painting, iridizing, and marking. There are additionally lead crystal items.
BUILDING A COLLECTION
The charming kitsch of those dishes makes them a well-liked collectible, and collectors have an enormous selection to select from. At the least 100 glass firms are believed to have produced hen on nest dishes in additional than 250 sizes and shapes over the a long time that vary from 2 inches or much less to greater than 8 inches lengthy, although most items are generally within the 5- to 7-inch vary. No matter what sizes you gather, these dishes are straightforward to show and add a touch of shade and whimsy to any desk and shelf.
Costs vary from $25 and below to 1000’s for among the most uncommon and sought-after dishes. The very best value recorded within the WorthPoint Worth Information is $6,250 for a brown glass and bisque dish that bought in 2021. In 2023, a uncommon two-headed rooster dish bought for $8,100.
It may be troublesome to definitively decide which firm made what and the age of a chunk. Whereas some firms marked their dishes, like Westmoreland, many others didn’t; there have been additionally mildew designers who labored for multiple firm, so some dishes share similarities between producers.
Glass firms had particular person traits of their items, such because the forms of glass and colours they produced. The dimensions of the dish is an enormous clue in identification, as sure firms solely made particular sizes. Wetzel Glass, for instance, made small hen on nest salt dips. If you’ll find them, firm catalogs are additionally useful for figuring out items.
Remember that reproductions have been made in pottery and iridescent colours of carnival glass, so it’s essential to know the unique colours from newer ones. It’s additionally essential to rigorously examine items and ensure that the highest matches the proper base.
INDIANA’S POPULAR BROOD
Although collectors search hen dishes made by all firms, items by the Indiana Glass Firm have remained significantly in demand. Recognized for its manufacturing of Melancholy and carnival glass, Indiana Glass was additionally a prolific producer of hen on nest sweet dishes and was thought-about probably the most outstanding firms that made them. A few of its items are additionally among the many Most worthy.
The corporate’s iconic seven-inch hen just about saved its similar fundamental look from the Nineteen Thirties to the late Nineteen Nineties and was made in a rainbow of colours, together with 5 in carnival glass and between 25 and 30 shades general. Collectors discover this big range of colours interesting, particularly the hunt for scarce shades, which command increased costs.
Two of essentially the most beneficial Indiana Glass hens are the mysterious and legendary cobalt blue hens and the mulberry-stained dishes. Thought of Holy Grails, these examples can promote for $1,000 or extra.
To study extra about these endearing items, a beneficial useful resource in WorthPoint’s Library is Shirley Smith’s Hen on Nest Coated Dishes: Identification & Worth Information. The e book options descriptions, colours, marks, manufacturing dates, reproductions and reissues, over 800 images, and different useful info.
Adina Okay. Francis has been a author and editor within the antiques and collectibles discipline for greater than 20 years. She has a little bit of an obsession with the Victorians and thinks that canines are one in all life’s best items.
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