Vintage Fiesta Relish Tray

You may have noticed that we have Fiesta dishes around here.  You would have seen them in the many photos I take of the recipes we're eating.  What you may not have known is that we have a combination of vintage and modern pieces.

Our daily dishes came from our wedding registry and are white.  We have dinner plates, salad plates, cereal bowls and tea cups/saucers.  However, my love of Fiesta started way before we got married.  It started in my maternal Grandmother's kitchen, because her dishes were Fiesta from the 30's and 40's.  I inherited her pieces and so I have a lovely mix of sunny yellows (her favorite color), cobalt blue and turquoise.  We have added a few of our own modern and vintage pieces so you'll see orange and even one red one up in the cupboard or on the counter.

Now that you have the background I must show you my most recent addition.  Just yesterday a dear friend gave me her vintage relish tray.  Now if you know anything about Fiesta you know what a gift this was!  The relish tray was only produced from 1935-1946 and they were produced in all one color (red, yellow, green, ivory, blue or turquoise) .  However, the retailers mixed up the pieces to make colorful assortments.

I saw my friend's relish tray about 5 years ago and commented on how rare it was and how beautiful.  She'd received it as a gift but wasn't using it because it didn't match her all white (modern) fiesta dishes.  Fast forward to this month and she said I should take it since she still doesn't use it.

Isn't it a beauty?  I love the color!  However, the fact that it sells on ebay for an average of $200-$400 makes me afraid to do much more than admire it.  Ha!  But, if you come to my house for dinner I'll pull it out with veggies and dip in it.  :)

The inserts are removable and have fiesta fired on the bottom.  The middle dish is referred to as a coaster.

The bottom of the large dish (referred to as a pie plate) also has the fiesta stamp.  The color in this photo is the most accurate, as the tray is a turquoise color.  

This relish tray looks brand new.  Hard to believe that it is actually 75'ish years old!  Ah the relish it must have seen back in the day.  

Perhaps I'll show more of my Fiesta on another wednesday.  We could call it Fiesta ware Wednesday . :)