Purpose/name of this glass dish

[Fat Guy]

I found a set of six of these while unpacking:

What the heck is it for?

[Blether]

It's an ashtray.

[baroness]

How big are they?

Are there any markings on the bottom?

[Mjx]

If they're small, some sort of finger bowls?

[Anna N]

It's an ashtray.

Doubt it is an ashtray - it's missing the indents for a cigarette. My guess would be a relish dish.

[Doodad]

My grandmother had condiment sets like that. Had a handled carrier to set the glass in. For pickles and such.

[the old cook]

I agree about the condiments, if long enough, it looks like my grandmother's celery dish.

[robirdstx]

Could be for nuts, and such, for parties.

[Paul Bacino]

Any marking on the bottom? The thicker corners with pointed glass could act as a heat sink, for baking something?

[Alex]

Dimensions?

[natasha1270]

Relish/condiment or possibly corn on the cob dish depending on size?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I have a set of these that were passed down to me from my grandmother; they've always been explained to me as corn dishes, although I generally use them for pickles and relishes.

[HungryC]

Yes, it does look like a corn on the cob dish to me. The size/shape are useful for desserts, too: a dollop of pudding and toppings, a rectangular slice of cake, individual trifles....

[pep.]

It's an ashtray.

My first association also.

It's an ashtray.

Doubt it is an ashtray - it's missing the indents for a cigarette. My guess would be a relish dish.

You're probably right and I noticed the missing indents, too, but the whole look still screams "ashtray" to me.

[Fat Guy]

Dimensions?

I packed it up again right after posting but I'd say about 6" long. Next time I get to them I can take an exact measurement.

[andiesenji]

They can certainly be used as relish or olive dishes, etc.

However, I believe they are a mid-century modern form of a bone dish. The traditional shape was a crescent but in the '50s the rectangular ones in both china and pressed glass began to appear again after the "bone dish" per se, had fallen out of fashion during the 1930s and 1940s.

The etiquette books of those days (we got a taste of this in high school home ec) advocated the use of bone dishes on the table as it was considered impolite to leave bones on the dinner plate and extremely vulgar to put them on the bread and butter plate.

They were centered above each plate on the table.

I have 8 of the Eva Zeisel Harlequin that are rounded rectangles as part of my set.

Edited May 18, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[Anna N]

They can certainly be used as relish or olive dishes, etc.

However, I believe they are a mid-century modern form of a bone dish. The traditional shape was a crescent but in the '50s the rectangular ones in both china and pressed glass began to appear again after the "bone dish" per se, had fallen out of fashion during the 1930s and 1940s.

The etiquette books of those days (we got a taste of this in high school home ec) advocated the use of bone dishes on the table as it was considered impolite to leave bones on the dinner plate and extremely vulgar to put them on the bread and butter plate.

They were centered above each plate on the table.

I have 8 of the Eva Zeisel Harlequin that are rounded rectangles as part of my set.

I think a bone dish is a tradition that should not have been so easily abandoned! I love the idea of a place to stash the bones from wings and such. Maybe I'll revive it.

[andiesenji]

I'm with you, Anna.

I love using bone dishes. I have some with a set of majolica that are leaf-shaped, some that are oval with a "pinch" on one end but most are the crescent shape.

Hall China in their "Hallcraft" line produced a number of different shapes. Unfortunately, as they were offered as an add-on to the regular sets, there were not as many sold because that was about the time that people began to cut back on the number of pieces in a place setting.

At the turn of the last century, there were twice as many china pieces in a place setting as there were in the mid 1930s.

[dcarch]

Some how that just doesn't look like it is a good design for bones next to a dinner plate.

I have two sets. I normally use them for nuts and dips.

dcarch

[Mjx]

Any idea of when they were made/acquired by you or whoever gave then to you? Small side dishes tend to fall in and out of fashion, so situating them in time would also given an idea of their intended use. But I really like the idea of their being bone dishes.

[Fat Guy]

I've got no clue as to their origins. I think we got them at a thrift store way back.

[baroness]

Whatever their original title, I think they would be great for sushi and salad/summer rolls!

[Fat Guy]

I'm glad there isn't a simple answer.

[Mjx]

You could roll around to Fishs Eddy, or a thrift shop, and ask: it's the sort of thing they carry.

[dcarch]

I would use the set for "mise en place" in the kitchen.

They take up less room on the counter then round dishes and you can stack them.

dcarch