Hen on Nest Glass aka Hon on Nest

My life is full of things that I have stumbled across and took a liking to.  Sometimes it's something a friend introduced me to and other times it's something that I discovered or rediscovered on my own.  This week, I noticed a post on Facebook in one of the chicken forums I am a fan of.  There was a picture showing a glass hen on a nest candy bowl.  Instantly, I think of every old person I know and how I'm sure I've seen many of them in homes throughout the years.  I am pretty sure my mother didn't have one, however, I would not bet my life on that....if she does have one, I know exactly where to look for it next time I stop by for a visit!  

Tonight, we stopped by a pretty cool antique store, Black Rose Antiques, which is a huge place full of dealers who rent space and all sell in one store.  Each space is sort of it's own little theme and it's quite fun poking around to see the wares.  I have not been there in a few years and both things I had my eye on (MINT Lane cedar chest with beautiful perfect veneer still reeking of aromatic cedar, one of natures truly awesome scents and a lovely Heywood Wakefield Blonde 1950's Modern dining set) were long gone.  I did, however, remember the posting of the Hen on Nest glass and decided  (especially to give my kids something to look for as entertainment) we needed to find ourselves a hen!  As we meandered through the spaces and rows and rediscovered things of our past....like those cool metal fans my grandmother had that had gaps so wide a small hand could slip in and the metal blades would chop it right off!  I love telling stories to my kids and I made sure to point out how dangerous these fans were and as neat as they look it was definitely not a force to be reckoned with!  Trent spent an extra minute in awe and touched the blades commenting on how he could see why it was so dangerous.  

It didn't take too long until we found our first hen.  The kids squealed in delight!  (as did I and if you know me personally, I'm sure you can imagine my excitement!)  We found 3 pieces in one little 'shop'.  2 were identical 'WHITE MILK GLASS' hens with painted red combs.  I personally wasn't digging the painted parts and wanted to keep looking.  There was also a clear glass model.  Prices ranged for $10-15 so I decided that was affordable and I convinced the gang we need not decide yet, because there may be more to find!  

It didn't take long until we found a few more color options.  The above amber glass was on the same shelf as the iridescent amber glass (below).  I was really hoping for a dark cranberry or even an olive green, but alas, there were none there. A clear frosted hen was pretty, but still not colorful.  Turns out, many manufacturers made these cute little bowls and they can be found in a crazy amount of colors.  We took home the iridescent amber bowl (below) after I was overthrown by my kids to take it over the plain amber one above.  

As you can see, the plain amber glass has darker undertones than the carnival glass, which has pink/purple undertones much like oil stains look like on the macadam.

We also found 2 similar bowls with ducks instead of hens, which was pretty cool too.  This bowl was a little more expensive at about $20, but it was very pretty.  There were many examples of other carnival glass in this same color about the store, so we all agreed it was a nice choice.  Oh, and I know it was called Carnival Glass, because I commented to the older gentleman who checked us out that the iridescent is what sold us on this particular piece.  He told me this was carnival glass.  So of course, when I got home I hit the web.  There is lots of info on these dishes and the companies who manufactured them.  Our particular hen has a flat tail.  The white milk glass hen above had a 3-D tail.  I do believe the hen we purchased was made by Indiana Glass, who went out of business in 2002.  According to one source I found, there were only 3 Carnival Colors manufactured including the amber we have.  Indiana glass made hordes of colors and manufactured this particular hen for 70+ years.  The Carnival colors were made in the 1970's.  I believe I will look for more hens as we travel to different flea markets and sales throughout the summer.  I will also try to learn about the makers and markings on the pieces so that I will do better identifying them when I find them.  I still would love a dark green or cranberry piece so will keep my eyes peeled!  The kids were very excited by  the purchase and look forward to finding more in our travels.  The husband, however, was not as excited by this fine piece of Americana as we were!  Funny how once you get yourself some chickens, you are drawn to chicken art!  

One person's junk is another man's treasure!

Malissa