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By Miriam Raftery
Photos, top left to lower right of antique and vintage butter dishes: EAPG Victorian beaded emerald green, pink Depression glass, Summit Art amethyst carnival glass with embossed holly, Jeanette cobalt blue Depression glass with cherry pattern, vintage ‘60s amber glass, EAPG Delaware glass gold encrusted circa 1899, Fenton hobnail milk glass for weddings, green uranium glass, L.E. Smith aqua Blue Moon and Stars.
August 11, 2022 (San Diego) - Before refrigeration, butter dishes were essentials to keep butter soft and ready to serve. Many antique and vintage butter dishes from the 1800s and early 1900s are elegant display pieces, some in colored glass or ornately cut crystal. Older ones are round, from when butter was hand-churned and served in a ball. More recent versions are rectangular, in a variety of colors and styles.
Butter dishes were originally designed to store butter before the era of refrigeration. From the height of elegant opulence during the Victorian era, to cheerful colors during the Depression, butter dishes have long provided more than a utilitarian purpose, adding a dash of style to any dining table setting or kitchen.
Beyond storing or serving butter, here are some creative and contemporary uses for your antique, vintage or contemporary butter dishes today:
Food:
Dessert dishes -- Use multiple round butter dishes to serve elegant personal-sized deserts such as mini-torts, cupcakes, or baked apples.
Serve a cheese ball – for a festive way to dress up your next holiday party.
Caviar container – For an elegant addition to your next dinner, unveil caviar with a flourish in your favorite decorative butter dish.
Display
Display jewelry – show off stunning rings or bracelets in style.
In clear glass, display a treasure such as a geode, fossil, gemstone etc.
Storage
Fragrance -- Store a scented sachet and lift the lid to savor your favorite aroma.
Store perfume – A butter dish of any shape can prove a sweet solution to hold small perfume containers.
Coaster storage: A circular covered butter dish is an ideal spot to store round coasters that protect tabletop surfaces from water stains when you have guests.
Office uses -- Store paperclips or other small items.
Sewing needs -- Keep a pincushion or measuring tape handy and out of sight in an opaque butter dish.
Keep makeup close at hand: Store lipsticks or other cosmetics in a butter dish on your dresser or bathroom countertop.
Interested in buying antique or vintage butter dishes or other collectible glass pieces? Miriam Raftery, author of this piece and editor of East County Magazine, has a collection of over 150 estate glass items for sale, including more than 70 butter dishes. Contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org or 619-698-7617.
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