Antique Cobalt Blue German Glass Kugel Christmas Ornament This authentic cobalt blue kugel glass Christmas ornament was made in Germany in the late 1800s to early 1900s. It's about 2-7/8" diameter with a circumference of 9 inches.

Kugels are colored within the glass, not painted or finished on the outside, and the mercury silvering is on the inside. The ornament has very even, magnificent deep cobalt coloring with no cloudiness and little if any mercury degradation. There are a number of tiny bubbles within the glass which is common. The brass cap is tight with only a few interior scratches to the glass near the cap rims from the fastening wires. The color is a little darker than my pictures show - the white photography cube I used to diminish reflections made the blue appear lighter. I've owned and sold many kugels over the years but I don't think I've ever had one in better condition than this beauty.

Circa: 1890s
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Turn of the Century German Import  

Pair Antique German Liquid Filled Glass Indent Christmas Ornaments These rare German glass indented Christmas ornaments have blown glass bulbs in the deeply recessed centers which were once filled with liquid. The liquid has long since evaporated, but the ornaments are still lovely. They're about 2-1/4" diameter, blown with the pikes in the back and wire hangers attached at the side between the rims and pikes. The glass bulbs inside are mounted over circles of looped gold wire and have some pink and blue color tinting. One ornament has a small dresden foil flower scrap covering the pontil of the inner glass bulb, the other has lost its scrap flower. The inner mercury silvering has suffered natural deterioration, mostly affecting the backs. It's amazing that such fragile, paper-thin beauties have survived in such great condition for the past 80-some years. Price is for the pair.

Circa: 1930
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Pre War German Import  

8 Pink and Yellow Stripes Unsilvered Glass WWII Christmas War Ornaments Eight American made glass Christmas ornaments produced during World War II, when shortages and rationing forced American ornament manufacturers to use transparent colors and painted designs instead of silvering their ornaments.

The four striped magenta pink ornaments are just over 2" diameter and have Shiny Brite metal caps but I don't know if they're original - many war ornaments were made with paper caps. Three have the same colored stripe configuration, wide yellow over white and blue. One has a narrow center blue stripe surrounded by two wide white bands. These are in very good condition with bright colors and little wear.

The other four ornaments are a little smaller, about 1-3/4" or so diameter. Two are bright magenta pink, one with painted green leaves or flower petals below the cap. One is bright opaque yellow with lavender stripes, the other is clear with white stripes and a piece of wired silver and red cellophane tinsel. These two have some wear to the yellow paint and the white stripes as shown, the small magenta ornaments have bold color with virtually no wear.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite and Others  

Green Wired Indent Star Comet Christmas Ornament Spun Glass Tail I am not sure if this exceptional German glass Christmas ornament was made pre-war or post war - it would date to either just before 1940 or right after, late 1940s Western Germany. A blown glass flower indent round ornament is wrapped in thin crinkled wire and encircled by a brown chenille star. Attached to the pike at the bottom of the ornament is a 3-3/4" comet tail made of spun glass fibers. Overall length is about 7". The silvered glass ornament is green with a red tinted center flower indent. There is some finish wear to the back of the ornament, rub wear from the wires, and several wires are broken or loose. See my other listings for a star comet ornament like this in a different color.

Circa: Late 1930s - Early 1940s
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Pre or Post War German Import  

Dozen Vintage Poland Blown Glass Christmas Ornaments A mixed assortment of twelve vintage Polish blown glass Christmas ornaments. All but four are indents, most are teardrop shape. There are three round ornaments and one is shaped like an ice cream cone. The largest is the red teardrop with yellow painted flowers at 3-1/2" long, the smallest a 1-1/2" round gold indent with a flower petal inside (which apparently is covering up a break in the back wall of the indent). The white with red center stripe teardrop is indented on both sides. Some have replacement caps and some do have some color wear and spottiness but all will display beautifully on your vintage Christmas tree.

Circa: 1940s - 1960s
Country of Origin: PL
Manufacturer: Mid Century Poland Imports  

Blown Glass Teardrop Christmas Ornaments in Wired Tinsel Cages Three very pretty blown satin glass long teardrop ornaments, each wrapped in wired metallic tinsel. They are 7 to 8 inches long total; one is blue with silver, one is green with silver, and one is beige-peach with gold. The metal caps are covered with the tinsel but I think the ornaments were made in West Germany. I have a fourth ornament in dark gold with green mercury beads at the bottom that I will include if the buyer wants it (second photo). It has a hole on one side but you may want to use it anyway, hanging the damaged side in toward the tree trunk, or you may have a replacement glass teardrop that will fit the tinsel and bead cage.

Circa: 1950s
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Mid Century West German Import  

2 Vintage Pink Shiny Brite Figural Top Lantern Glass Christmas Ornaments A pair of vintage Shiny Brite glass Christmas ornaments in the uncommon toy top shape, sometimes called lanterns. They're just over 2-3/4" high, one solid medium pink, the other a brighter, hot pink, almost magenta, with painted green stripes. In good vintage condition with no chips or breaks though the light colored ornament has a bit of color wear.

Circa: Late 1940s to 1950s
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

Shiny Brite Unsilvered Mica Yellow Pink WWII Glass War Christmas Ornaments These unsilvered striped glass Christmas ornaments were made by Shiny Brite in the World War II years, 1942 to 1945. The ornament manufacturers had to use transparent sprayed, flashed, and painted-on colors during that time due to military rationing and shortages of silver nitrate.

All have transparent painted purple or magenta rings or stripes with yellow and white mica bands. The round ornament is 2-1/4" high by 2" diameter, the two bell ornaments are about 2-1/8" high to the tops of the metal Shiny Brite caps. There is some wear to the mica glitter as shown, particularly on the bells, otherwise good vintage condition.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

8 Vintage Wired Tinsel Christmas Ornaments with Mercury Glass Beads These colorful wired tinsel Christmas ornaments are so pretty, and unusual. I'm not sure if someone made them or they were purchased this way. There are eight, each different shape formed from colored wired metallic tinsel and all but two decorated with mercury glass bead ornaments.

The shapes include a dimensional basket, spider web, star, spire drops, and others in blue, pink, turquoise, silver and gold. They range in size from about 4-1/2 to 6 inches high. My pictures didn't turn out well due to poor lighting but they're simply beautiful! Price is for the set of eight.

Circa: 1950s
Manufacturer: Unmarked  

Brilliant Colors Spiked Teardrop Spiral Indent Christmas Ornament This unusual blown glass Christmas ornament is slightly oval shaped with a ribbed spike at the bottom. The spiral indent reflector in the center is very uncommon, both in the near-neon bold coloring and the pinwheel spiral shape. The outside is silver with a wide band of yellow painted around the outside rim, then decorated with white painted curlicue loops. It's about 3-3/4" long and in very good vintage condition with just a touch of wear to the outside yellow band and some rust on the tin cap. I don't think it's marked (can't read it if it is) but the style strongly suggests 1950s West Germany or possibly Poland.

Circa: 1950s
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Mid Century West German Import  

Box 5 Poland Blue Glass Long Ribbed Teardrop Christmas Ornaments Five blown glass Polish long ribbed teardrop or icicle ornaments in metallic blue, still in their original box (which originally held six ornaments). They range from 5-1/2" to 6" long and are shabby in an attractive, antique manner with remnants of old snow flocking and age wear to the silvering and blue finish. The metal caps say Poland and are intact but somewhat rusty. The ornaments originally had vertical mica stripes on the ridges but most has worn away from age and handling. There are no chips or breaks. The box is intact and in good condition but is missing the cellophane window covering.

Circa: 1950s
Country of Origin: PL
Manufacturer: Post War Polish Import  

2 German Mercury Indent Christmas Ornaments Spun Glass Strands Inside A pair of rare 1930s or earlier German blown mercury glass diorama indent type glass Christmas ornaments with double pikes. Instead of a little scene inside the indent, each ornament has a spiderweb-flower of fine spun glass strands in the centers. One ornament is smooth and round with pale blue spun glass, just over 2" diameter. The other has a wide ribbed back and scalloped rim with pale yellow spun glass strands, slightly larger than the other.

The upper pikes have tin metal caps, slightly oxidized. The pikes at the center backs are left open, allowing Christmas tree lights to back light and enhance the center decorations. Both ornaments are very thin and fragile, and have a pearly white coloring from natural loss of the inner mercury silvering. There are some scratches to the outside finish and some dust inside but no breaks or chips, not even to the thread-like spun glass strands. Price is for the pair.

Circa: 1930s
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Pre War German Import  

4 Unsilvered WWII Mica Snow Capped Dark Pink Glass Christmas War Ornaments A set of four transparent, unsilvered American made glass Christmas ornaments, made during the World War II years of the 1940s when manufacturers did not have access to silvering agents. They are larger in size than most war ornaments, nearly 3" high to the tops of the metal caps. The color is flashed dark pink, almost magenta, with snow capped decoration extending from the tops of glittery white mica. The ornaments are a little dusty and the mica has yellowed some with age, but the color is still good and there are no chips or breaks.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
 

5 Tiny Colorful Feather Tree Indent Glass Christmas Ornaments Five fancy feather tree size glass Christmas ornaments from the 1980s, painted in bright jewel tone colors. The red and silver ball is the only "plain" one, the others are indented and have hand painted designs. The green ornament with the twisted icicle finial has one reflector indent, the yellow with pink centers has two, and the pink/green and blue/pink each have three indents. The largest is barely over 1-3/4" long from pontil to the top of the cap, the smallest is just over an inch high. All five are in very good vintage condition with no damage and only very slight wear. The metal caps are unmarked.

Circa: 1980s
Manufacturer: 1980s Eastern Europe Import  

Christmas Mercury Glass and Pinecone Cluster Floral Craft Picks in Turquoise and Pink These vintage floral craft pick clusters are made of silvered, colored mercury glass wired together. The two pretty pick clusters have tiny little pinecones among the glass balls. Pink and silver foil grape leaves are attached to the bottoms of the stems. The ornaments are airbrushed or sprayed hot pink so that part of each is colored and part is silver. Each of the two branches is about 14" long and has three sizes of glass ornaments from about 1-1/2" to less than 1" diameter. I count three missing or broken-off ornaments on one branch, two on the other, and there are a few pine cones with crush damage.

The smaller turquoise or aqua blue cluster has ten oval or egg-shaped glass ornaments wired together with silver foil stems. About 9" long overall with no missing ornaments, though the silver foil is loose at some of the ends.

Circa: 1940s - 1950s
Manufacturer: Unmarked  

Pair 1950s Striped Double Indent Glass Christmas Ornaments Two American made Mid Century double indent and striped round Christmas ornaments. One of the metal caps says Shiny Brite, and they're certainly Shiny Brite style ornaments, but I don't know which if either cap is original.

The smaller of the two is 2-3/8" diameter, silver with wide red bands, thin green stripes, and painted yellow flowers at either side of the reflector centers. The indents are faceted with 5-petal flowers in the centers and tinted pink.

The other ornament is 2-5/8" diameter, silver with a wide blue center band and yellow and white thin painted stripes. The ringed reflector indents have a flower at the centers tinted red. This ornament has a little chip at the pike under the cap, and both have minor spotting and fading from age and handling.

Circa: 1950s
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

Blue Teardrops Unsilvered Glass WWII Christmas Ornaments, Tinsel and Stripes An attractive lot of six blue teardrop shape transparent glass Christmas ornaments, all from the 1940s World War II years, when silver nitrate was not available for civilian use, forcing the ornament manufacturers to use only sprayed and painted colors.

The three larger ornaments are 3-1/4" long. Two have multi-colored painted stripes, one is solid blue. The solid and one of the striped teardrops have wired tinsel inside. The three smaller teardrops are 2-3/4" long, all decorated the same with yellow and white stripes. These have a slightly different blue tint, with an almost violet or purplish hue. The ornaments have no chips or breaks. The coloring and finish is still very good, with one of the large teardrops having some crazing or crackling to the blue color at the neck and tip, and one of the small ornaments has a noticeable scratch to the white stripe paint.

Circa: 1942 - 1945
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: American War Era Production  

5 Premier Glass Double Indent Lantern Christmas Ornaments Five American made Christmas ornaments from the 1940s by Premier Glass Works. They're 3" tall and have a distinctive, unusual lantern shape with round star indented centers on both sides and flat bands or rings and the tops and bottoms. They're silvered, three are painted in bright red and green stripes, two have red stripes with green tinted indents. The silvering is shiny and reflective on the ornaments with the green stripes but there is some silver loss near the pikes. The other two have turned an almost pearly white color from natural deterioration of the inner silvering. No chips or breaks.

Circa: 1940s
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Premier Glass Works  

25 Red, Green, Blue Christmas Mercury Glass Wired Bead Spikes Sprays These lovely old mercury glass Christmas bead sprays are strung on sturdy wire with metallic paper tips. There are 25 individual stems or picks, 13 green, 10 red, and 2 blue ranging from 8-1/2" to over 11" long from the bottom bead to the paper tip including the wire picks. They're in good vintage condition with some light rust or oxidation to the bare wire ends - I noted only one chipped bead through excess wire indicates some stems may have a missing bead or two. The color variations of light, dark, and near transparent beads are caused by normal age deterioration of the inner mercury silvering, giving the sprays a beautiful antique appearance.

Circa: 1940s
Country of Origin: JP
Manufacturer: Mid Century Japan Import  

1800s German Green Glass Kugel Christmas Ornament This authentic green kugel glass Christmas ornament was made in Germany in the late 1800s to early 1900s. It's about over 2-3/4" diameter with a circumference of 8-3/4 inches.

Kugels are colored within the glass, not painted or finished on the outside, and the mercury silvering is on the inside. The ornament has a nice metallic lime green coloring with typical spotting and crazing crackling of the interior finish. When you hold the kugel up to strong light, you can see some semi-transparency from natural loss of the inner silvering. The brass cap slides a bit but is securely attached. There's a ring of rub wear around the cap from the cap wires inside - this is very common.

Circa: 1890s
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Late 1800s Century German Import  

8 Shiny Brite Double Striped Indent Glass Christmas Ornaments An assortment of eight 1950s double indent glass Christmas ornaments by Shiny Brite, silvered with colorful painted bands and stripes. Five are round, 2-1/4" high by 2" diameter. The other three are the more scarce teardrop shape, 2-1/2" long. The ornaments all have color loss (considerable on some) and wear from age and handling but no chips or breaks.

Circa: 1950s
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite  

3 Antique Pink Liquid Filled Blown Glass Christmas Ornaments Three rare paper-thin German silvered mercury glass Christmas ornaments with liquid-filled blown glass bulbs in the deeply indented centers. This type of ornament was so fragile that few of them survived more than a few Christmas seasons, and most of those remaining lost their liquid long ago. All three of these however are still filled with the original oil or water (I'm not sure of the composition) in the center bulbs.

The ornaments are about 2" to 2-1/4" diameter. The one with the annealed glass hook at the top and back pike may actually be Italian, though all of the liquid center Italian ornaments I've seen have only one pike at the top. It is in better condition with a brilliant pink-red center bulb painted with white and black stripes which cause a kaleidoscope effect when reflected off the shiny back wall of the indent.

The other two ornaments have clear center bulbs with painted pink, white, and green stripes, one perfectly round, the other with a scalloped rim and back. They both have double pikes at the back and top. The ornaments have age deterioration and spottiness to the inner silvering, causing a milky-white, near transparent effect. Price is for the set of three.

Circa: 1930s
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Pre War German Import  

Box 15 Extra Large Pink and Red American Made Glass Christmas Ornaments A dozen plus three oversize Mid-Century, American made glass Christmas ornaments in pink and red. Thirteen of the ornaments are a full 3" diameter. One of each color is a little smaller, but even these would be considered fairly large size Christmas ornaments by most standards. Most of the pink ones have Shiny Brite caps, the reds are marked Made in U.S.A. The ornaments have no chips or breaks but they do have some spottiness and uneven coloring from age and handling. They come in a large ornament box with no lid - the box itself measures 15 by 12 inches. I added three additional 3" pink Shiny Brites after the photos were taken, they aren't shown but will be included for a total of 15 ornaments.

Circa: 1950s
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite, Others  

Germany Triple Indent Glass Christmas Ornament This 3-1/4" triple indent glass Christmas ornament has a pre-war German metal cap that fits perfectly and is made of very thin silvered glass, indicating probable late 1930s manufacture, though some ornaments like this were not imported to the USA until the war ended.

The body is cream or very pale gold color, with green bands and white dots and squiggle lines hand painted around the top, bottom, and between the three pink tinted flower indents. There is some scratching to the creamy background color, otherwise good vintage condition.

Circa: Late 1930s
Country of Origin: DE
Manufacturer: Pre War German Import  

Shiny Brite and Italian Silvered Flower Indent Glass Christmas Ornaments Here are two versions of a very similar style of Christmas ornament, made about 20 years apart. All are silvered with a ribbed and beaded pattern surrounding a flower indent on both sides.

The Shiny Brite ornament, made in the late 1930s to early 1940s, is a bit shorter than the others at 2-1/2" high and has a much wider neck. It is silvered on the inside and plain with no decoration.

The Italian ornaments are virtually the same shape (the center flower indent has a small design variation) but they were produced in the 1950s to mid 1960s and their necks are narrower. These also have silvering on the inside but are tinted in the centers - one orange, one bright pink or light red. The Italian ornaments are in excellent condition though one has a replacement cap (the original wire hanger is still trapped inside). The other cap is marked Made Italy. The Shiny Brite has its original cap, and does have a little deterioration of the inner mercury silvering near the neck.

Circa: 1930s - 1950s
Manufacturer: Shiny Brite and Italian Import