Gablonz ornament
Material: Glass beads, glass, wire
Size: 14 cm long, 6 cm wide, 2,8 cm deep
Age: around 1920
Origin: Czech, Gablonz
Condition:
Very good used condition.
Desription:
Gablonz Christmas ornament dating from the 1920s, intricately assembled from silvered glass beads and elongated glass bugles threaded onto wire. Two larger silvered glass spheres form the centre, surrounded by ribbed gold-coloured beads and a delicate triangular framework. Red and orange glass beads add vibrant accents. A curved row of small silvered beads completes the lower edge, while a long silvered glass tube with wire loops forms part of the suspension. The variety of bead shapes and the combination of silver, gold and vivid colours give this ornament its distinctive appeal. A collectible piece with authentic signs of age and the charm of traditional Gablonz craftsmanship. Guaranteed antique – 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.
