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Christmas Kugels
Kugel is the name of heavy glass Christmas ornaments made in Germany from as early as 1840 until World War I. The word kugel means "ball" in German, and the first kugel ornaments were smooth-surface balls. Kugels originated because the glass blowers had molten glass left over at the end of the day and they wanted to see who could blow the biggest ball shape. Too heavy to hang on a Christmas tree, kugels were most often hung in a doorway or window.
Around 1880, kugels began to appear in figural shapes such as grape clusters, apples, pears, pinecones, berries, teardrops, and ribbed balls. Kugels were produced by blowing glass into a mold, after which the kugel was snapped off the blowing iron, leaving a neck, or hole, in the kugel. The neck was ground almost flat to accept a decorative brass cap, which fit snugly down on the ornament and concealed the hole. Caps were attached with a cap wire with arms that spread out inside the kugel. Hanging rings were then usually fastened to the cap wire.
Kugel brass caps may be embossed with an ornamental design. Original kugels are generally lined inside with mirror silver. The most frequent outside colors are red, cobalt, blue, green, gold, silver, and amethyst. There are some reproduction kugels being manufactured in the late 20th into the 21st Century. Many of these reproductions are made in India.
Around 1880, kugels began to appear in figural shapes such as grape clusters, apples, pears, pinecones, berries, teardrops, and ribbed balls. Kugels were produced by blowing glass into a mold, after which the kugel was snapped off the blowing iron, leaving a neck, or hole, in the kugel. The neck was ground almost flat to accept a decorative brass cap, which fit snugly down on the ornament and concealed the hole. Caps were attached with a cap wire with arms that spread out inside the kugel. Hanging rings were then usually fastened to the cap wire.
Kugel brass caps may be embossed with an ornamental design. Original kugels are generally lined inside with mirror silver. The most frequent outside colors are red, cobalt, blue, green, gold, silver, and amethyst. There are some reproduction kugels being manufactured in the late 20th into the 21st Century. Many of these reproductions are made in India.
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Latest page update: made by
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, Dec 15 2008, 12:25 PM EST
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