Gablonz Glass Kugel
Material: Glass, Wire, wax inside
Origin: Gablonz, Czech
Size: 7,5 cm tall, diameter 3,5 cm
Age: ca. 1920
Condition:
Good condition.
Description:
An exceptional antique Christmas ornament from Gablonz, in present-day Czechia, dating to around 1920. The ornament consists of a large, finely ribbed glass sphere partially filled with wax. A smaller turquoise-green glass bead sits above it. Gold-tone metal fittings and articulated connecting links complete the charming design.The pale, slightly translucent glass sphere contrasts beautifully with the coloured glass bead. Age-related wear and the preserved patina emphasise the authentic character of this collectable piece.
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.
