c1880's 7.5" Antique Kugel Christmas ornament Mercury glass ball. Very thick antique glass guaranteed authentic. Good condition with no chips, cracks, or dings, slight loss to 140 or so year old mirroring.
Holiday trees in 1840 were adorned with apples, gilded and natural fruits and nuts, cookies, popcorn and cranberries, as well as homemade paper items, candles, cornucopias, and presents. It was during this decade that the first commercially produced Christmas decorations appeared. In 1848, the first glass ornament, a kugel, appeared in Germany. The kugel was a large hollow ball ranging in size from 1 inch to 18 inches. Smaller ones were used for tree decorations. The blown, molded, figural glass ornaments that we are familiar with today evolved from the tradition of blowing kugels. These ornaments were not sold in America until 1880.Kugel is a German word that means "ball" and can be used to describe any type of ball-like object. Collectors used this term to describe any early thick glass ornament with a decorative cap. Early Kugels were too heavy to hang on tree branches; instead they were suspended from the ceiling. Soon after their invention, the Germans decided small Kugels should adorn tree boughs in shapes such as grapes, berry clusters, apples and pears. F. W. Woolworth is given credit for bringing Kugels to America in the 1880s. His initial investment of $25 turned into sales of at least $25 million worth of Kugels over the next several years. tw198