Hen on nest dishes: makers, marks and how to identify them

A little hen on nest history

Covered glass hen dishes go back to the 1800s. By the late 1890s, some glass hens were sold as packaging, filled with mustard or other goods, and the dish was the keeper once the contents were gone. Through the 20th century, hens became candy dishes, egg holders and farmhouse decor, in every color glass houses could make.

They range from tiny chick salts, barely two inches long, to big centerpiece dishes. The mid-century milk glass hen is the one most people picture.

Where to look for a mark

Check inside the lid and on the underside of the base, both. Many makers marked only one half, and some marked neither. A mark on the lid but not the base (or the reverse) can also be a clue that the two halves didn't start life together.

Before you trust a mark, check that the lid actually fits. A matching lid sits level and doesn't rock, and the colors and detail line up.

Major makers and their marks

These are the makers you'll run into most in American collections. Dates are approximate, and most companies didn't mark every piece.

• Westmoreland (Grapeville, Pennsylvania; closed 1984): famous for milk glass and made hens in many sizes. Its best-known mark is an intertwined W and G, used from the mid-1940s. From 1982, in its last years, it used a mark with Westmoreland arched over a W. Many hens are unmarked.
• Indiana Glass: made a standard hen of about 7 inches from around the mid-1930s until the late 1990s, in clear, milk glass, amber, avocado green, carnival and other colors. Indiana hens are not marked with a company logo. Collectors look for a flat, straight tail that isn't split, and a small round mold mark in the center of the lid.
• Imperial Glass (Bellaire, Ohio; closed 1984): used an IG monogram from about 1951. After Lenox bought the company in the 1970s the mark became LIG, and after a 1981 sale it became ALIG. Those later letters help date a piece.
• Kemple (East Palestine, Ohio and Kenova, West Virginia; about 1945 to 1970): often marked with a K on the base, but not always. Kemple and Westmoreland hens can look a lot alike.
• Degenhart (Cambridge, Ohio): made small hens and chick salts in many colors. Its D in a heart mark appears from the early 1970s.
• Boyd's Crystal Art Glass (Cambridge, Ohio; 1978 to 2014): bought the Degenhart factory and most of its molds. Boyd uses a B in a diamond, with small changes to the mark about every five years, so it helps date a piece.
• Fenton: made hens too, and from the 1970s on Fenton hens generally carry the Fenton oval logo, often with a decade number.
• Mosser (Cambridge, Ohio): later hens and chick salts are often marked with an M.
• Vallerysthal and Portieux (France): older French milk glass and opaline hens, sometimes embossed Vallerysthal or PV, often unmarked. The two companies' dishes can look nearly identical.

When molds changed hands

This is what makes hen ID tricky. Glass molds outlived the companies that made them. When Elizabeth Degenhart died in 1978, Boyd bought the factory and most of its molds. Westmoreland's chick salt mold was later used by Rosso, whose versions are often marked with an R in a keystone. Fenton used molds acquired from other companies and marked those pieces with a script F in an oval.

So the same hen shape can be made by two or three companies across several decades. The mark (if there is one) tells you who pressed that particular piece. The shape alone tells you less than you'd think.

Telling makers apart without a mark

For unmarked hens, collectors compare small details against documented examples. A few things worth looking at:

• Tail shape: straight or curled, flat or split.
• Head position: straight ahead or turned slightly to one side.
• Nest pattern: basket weave, crosshatch or vertical ribs, and whether the pattern covers the bottom of the base.
• Rim of the base: scalloped, beaded or plain.
• Size: measure the base. Reference guides list base sizes, and close-but-not-quite usually means a different mold.
• Color: some colors were only made by certain companies or in certain years.

Reproductions and newer imports

Newer hens imported from Asia often copy the classic shapes. Many are clear glass with a painted or sprayed-on color coating rather than colored glass. If the color scratches off, sits on the surface, or the hen has two or three different colors on one piece, be suspicious. Indiana, for example, never made multicolored hens on a single piece.

Hobbyists also stained clear hens over the years, so an unusual color on a common shape deserves a closer look.

And remember that later companies legitimately reissued older designs. A Boyd hen made from a Degenhart mold isn't a fake, it's a Boyd. It just isn't a Degenhart.

Glowing hens

Yes, uranium glass hens exist, and they're a favorite on our shows. Vaseline and other uranium-bearing hens light up green under UV. As with all uranium glass, the glow proves uranium is in the glass, not how old it is, since uranium glass was made again from the late 1950s on.

What drives hen on nest value

Maker, color, size and condition. Chips on the comb, beak, tail and the rim of the base are the usual problems, so check all of them. A true matching lid and base matters a lot. Unusual colors and glowing glass tend to draw the most bids. For current prices, check recently sold listings, since asking prices can be all over the place.

On our Whatnot shows we flip every hen over, show you the inside of the lid and the base, check the fit, and put anything glowy under the UV light. Come hang out and bring your hen questions.

FAQ