Not Mixing Bowls: The Vintage Pyrex Dish That's A Rare Thrift Find

During the decades that Pyrex was producing colorful and patterned opalware, it produced many popular designs including Butterprint, Spring Blossom, and Gooseberry. It also produced short-run promotional patterns such as the rare Black Tulip. Today, collectors continue to uncover pieces whose origins are unknown. They may be test colors or pieces produced for special events. The Fleur de Lis pattern is one of the brand's unknowns, a pattern with mysterious origins. Fewer than 10 examples are known to exist. Why the pattern was created or for whom it was created isn't clear. It could have been a promotional piece for an event at the 21 Club in Manhattan, but no one knows for sure.

Fleur de Lis' rarity makes it one of those Pyrex pieces people are willing to go to great lengths for — like crossing international borders or shelling out more than $6,000 for a single casserole dish with lid and cradle. The known colors include goldenrod (yellow), red, green, and blue, and possibly a light blue "delphite" colorway. Each one has a clear glass lid with a metallic design adorning it and some originally came with a cradle. Should you stumble upon a Fleur de Lis casserole dish while thrifting, snap it up. It's worth a fortune and a worthy addition to any Pyrex collection.

The only known examples of the Fleur de Lis pattern appear on the 475 Cinderella casserole dish, which measures 2.5 quarts. Pyrex introduced the dreamy Cinderella dishware, which features handles or spouts on the sides of each piece, in 1957. While originally available only on mixing bowls, the style was eventually added to casserole dishes and other dishware.

The pattern features a standard fleur de lis, a stylized lily with three large petals and a band stretching across them. The fleur de lis emblems encircle the casserole dish, in three staggered rows. The lids' design features a large stylized flower in the center. The blue Fleur de Lis dish has silver flowers on it while the red and green have gold ones. Each dish's metal cradle matches the metal on the pattern and lid. Metallic print is something that's often found on rare Pyrex patterns. Two other pieces that are also rare, the Turquoise Golden Birds and Cloverberry casserole dishes, also feature metallic designs.

It's also worth noting that while this Fleur de Lis pattern is only found on the 475 casserole, there are also some mixing bowls that feature a similar design. Like their casserole cousin, the mixing bowls are rare and worth keeping an eye out for while you're vintage shopping. Either find, the casserole dish or the mixing bowls, is the stuff of a Pyrex collector's dreams.