Gablonz Balloon
Material: Glass beads, glass, wire
Size: 20 cm high, Ø 7 cm
Age: mid 20th century
Origin: Czech, Gablonz
Condition:
Very good used condition. A few small dull spots in the mirrored finish of the large sphere.
Describtion:
Very Rare Balloon Christmas Ornament – Mid-20th Century
An elaborately crafted balloon ornament made from a large silvered glass sphere, glass beads, glass rods and wire. Delicate strands of clear glass beads surround the sphere. Silver-coloured glass rods and green and blue decorative beads complement the intricate design. A small, freely suspended basket made from elongated green glass beads and glass rods completes the ornament. The silvering inside the large glass sphere shows some dull patches, reflecting the piece’s age. Please refer to the photographs for its condition and further details. A very rare and highly collectable example of vintage Christmas decoration. Guaranteed old – not a reproduction.
History of the production of Gablonz glass bead jewelry
The production of Gablonz glass bead jewelry has a long tradition. The historiography began around 1550 in Gablonz / Sudetenland (today's Czech Republic) and developed in connection with the jewelry and glass industry. At that time, the first glassworks were built and from these, glass grinding shops. In the countless Gablonz family businesses, the beads were blown up from glass tubes in front of an oil lamp with bellows reinforcement, or later with a type of Bunsen burner. This is how the "freehand beads" were blown up by hand without any shaping aids. Later, the glass tubes were blown up into "shaped beads", again in front of the "lamp", using a bead forming machine developed in this region. Father and grandfather were usually responsible for blowing up the beads. Mother and grandmother's busy hands then strung this bead material on wire in certain formations.
