Swirl Jadeite Dishes: Learn How to Identify this Fire-King Pattern

How to Identify the Fire-King Swirl Design

Swirl and Shell Jadeite dishes look similar, but all you have to do to distinguish them is to run your hands around the edge.

The edge of Swirl plates will be smooth. Shell plates have a scalloped edge.

The difference is obvious enough you can tell them apart in person, and in pictures online. The swirl pattern is also on the border of the back of the dinner plates. The saucers have undecorated backs.

Collector’s Notes on Swirl Fire-King Jadeite Dishes

Collecting Swirl Jadeite dinnerware will be a challenge as they do not often come up for sale.

Only 3 confirmed types of Swirl dishes were made in Jadeite: a dinner plate, cup,  saucer.

Although they are all challenging to collect, the dinner plate will be the hardest to come by.

The iconic Jadeite Swirl mixing bowls are well known to new and seasoned Jadeite collectors. These were not sold as dinnerware as we cover in this post, but were sold as a set of 6”, 7”, 8” and 9” mixing bowls.

The 5” bowl had to be purchased separately which most buyers did not bother with. That’s why the 5” Jadeite swirl bowl is highly desired by collectors and hard to find today.

You can find 4 of the biggest mixing bowls relatively easily, but collecting the smallest 5” bowl will likely be difficult as they are quite rare.

Only two in the last 3 months have sold on eBay for $250 and $330 USD. FireKing Grill is extremely lucky to have 3 of these 5” bowls, but we are in Canada and there are reports of more of them being available up here.

Buyers Tip: Because the Swirl pattern is commonly confused with the Shell pattern, eBay and Etsy sellers will list dishes with the keywords “Shell” AND “Swirl”.

This unfairly leaves it up to the buyer to figure out what pattern is actually for sale. Please review this Swirl pattern guide and our Shell pattern identification guide to learn the differences and be sure of what you are buying.

Years Made

The Jadeite Swirl pattern was made from 1949-1951. Other colors were made at different times.

The similar looking Shell pattern wasn’t produced until 1963.

Learn More: The History of Jadeite Dishes

Learn More: The History of Fire-King Anchor Hocking (Part 1 of 4)

Other Colors

Along with Jadeite, “Swirl” dishes were made in these colors:

• Azur-ite (light blue)
• Ivory/White
• Ivory with 22k Gold Trim
• Rose-ite (pink)
• Sunrise (ivory with red trim)
• Lustre Trim (ivory with Peach Lustre trim)
• Pastel Trim (ivory with green, yellow, or red trim)

A variety of decorated Swirl bowls can also be found with landscape, floral and hobo designs.

Fire-King Markings for Swirl Jadeite Dishes

Look for these early markings on Fire-King Swirl dishes:

• OVEN Fire-King GLASS
• OVEN Fire-King WARE

Learn More: How to Identify Fire-King Jadeite Dish Markings

Fire-King Swirl Dishes Made in Jadeite

Fire-King Swirl only had a limited run in Jadeite with only 3 dishes being made in that pattern:

• 9 ⅛” dinner plate
• Cup
• 5 ¾” Saucer

Bonus: And a platter that was an experimental piece that never made it to production. We have only seen the platter photographed in the Jadite Identification and Price Guide book from 2014.

It is described as likely being a prototype that never made it to production. This scarce dish belongs to the Anchor Hocking morgue (museum), and is considered nearly impossible to find. The book value on this platter in 2014 was $1,000 and has only gone up in value since then.

Additional pieces were made in other colors, but Jadeite is the most coveted.

Research Sources

Learn more about Jadeite dishes with these collector guides, available on Amazon:

Florence, Gene. Anchor Hocking’s Fire-King & More: Identification & Value Guide including Early American Prescut and Wexford. Collector Books, 1998.

Ross, David, and Joe Keller. Jadite: An Identification & Price Guide. Schiffer Publishing, Limited, 2014.

Wilkins, Jerry, et al. A Collector’s Guide to Anchor Hocking’s “Fire-King” Glassware. K & W Collectibles, 1991

Mauzy, Barbara E. Mauzy’s Depression Glass: A Photographic Reference with Prices. Edited by Barbara E. Mauzy and Jim Mauzy, Schiffer Publishing, Limited, 1999