Christmas Balls

Christmas Balls • this painting is sold

While Christmas as a religious and holiday observance has existed for nearly 2000 years, glass reflector ornaments are relatively recent, making their first commercial appearance in the 1840's.

They were first made in a German village named Lauscha, about 60 miles north of Nuernberg, in the province of Thueringen. It was a cottage industry craft then. The ornaments were blown and silvered in a workshop attached to a home. Generally the glass was blown by men and the silvering handled by women. All members of the family, including children, helped paint and finish them.

These early glass balls were blown "free hand", without a mold. However, artisans soon began to use molds to increase their production. The pine cone was one of the first designs. It was followed gradually by the hundreds of different designs we are familiar with today. By the 1880's buyers from American stores were coming to the area to purchase glass ornaments. One of the earliest was F.W. Woolworth.

If you would like to purchase this 6" x 6" oil painting on stretched canvas, please email me. This painting is priced at $100.00 plus s/h.
info@annelizabethschlegel.com

Thank You!