** IN GENERAL, WE ARE COLLECTORS.  WE COLLECT EVERYTHING FROM DISHES TO STONES.  IN THIS CASE WE ARE OFFERING TO SELL ONE OF OUR CHRISTMAS TREASURES, A BEAUTIFUL HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE . . . 

CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT, "FOUR CALLING BIRDS", EARLY CHRISTOPHER RADKO, 1995, retired

This ornament represents day four of Christopher Radko's interpretation of the "Twelve Days of Christmas".  The piece is 6.25" tall (including the neck, crown, & ring), & shaped like a large round, slightly flattened ball with a smaller red ball on the base.  

Overall, it is colored white with a teal at the top . . . branches of spectacularly colored birds sit on the snow sprinkled branches which are covered with green leaves, painted with golden yellow highlights, & adorned with sparkling red berries.  Both sides of the ornament depict the four different Calling Birds, & the entire beauty is covered with glitter as well as whatever other magic that comprises Radko enchantment!

At one time we had over 500 Christopher Radko Christmas tree ornaments, but we have been gradually selling them.  As mentioned above, this one is the day number four of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" ornament collection, "FOUR CALLING BIRDS".  Unfortunately she is NOT complete as a collectible because she has NO ORIGINAL hang tag, Radko ID charm, nor ORIGINAL Radko Box.  HOWEVER, she DOES have an unmarked RADKO box, & most importantly, she has a history.

We have owned this particular ornament for close to 25 years, & it has adorned our Christmas tree each year; consequently it does have a few scratches in the paint near the top of the ornament.  

How I lost, misplaced, or accidentally threw away her ORIGINAL RADKO box, I haven't a clue.  I am usually a fanatic about ORIGINAL boxes, ORIGINAL hangtags, ORIGINAL whatever comes with any ITEM that is or MIGHT BECOME a COLLECTIBLE. . . even STONES!  

"FOUR CALLING BIRDS" is NOT pristine . . . BUT it has been well loved.  

It is one of my treasures that I am passing on to someone so that it can become one of their treasures . . . kind of like passing on a memory or a good story! 

DETAILS:

• Material: Silvered, Mouth-Blown Glass
• Pattern:  Four Calling Birds (retired)
• Collection:  Twelve Days of Christmas

ORNAMENT MEASUREMENTS:

• Length: 6.25"
• Width:  5" (approximately)
• Weight:  3 ozs.

APPRECIATING THE ART

The Humble Origins of Glass Ornaments

Although the glass globes you use to decorate your tree may have been manufactured in China, Mexico, the USA, or elsewhere, the originals were invented in Germany.  

The first written record of glass Christmas tree balls dates back to 1848.  Glass ornaments were first made in Lauscha, Germany, & production began as a cottage industry with workshops typically attached to homes. Entire families were involved in the work . . . the men in charge of glass blowing, women embellishing the ornaments with silver, & children helping out with painting & finishing. 

Initially, the ornaments were all blown without the use of a mold, in “free hand” style, but as the popularity for these fragile beauties grew, artisans developed molds in order to meet the increased demand.  The laborious process entailed heating a glass tube, inserting the end into a clay mold, & blowing the glass into the shape of the mold.  Soon these unique glass Christmas ornaments were being exported to other parts of Europe.

By the 1870s, Lauscha was exporting its unique glass ornaments to Britain.  Glass ornaments had become popular in 1846, when an illustration of Queen Victoria’s Christmas tree was printed in a London paper. The royal tree was decorated with glass ornaments from Prince Albert’s native land of Germany.

In the 1880s, the American dime-store magnate F.W. Woolworth discovered Lauscha’s Glaskugeln during a visit to Germany.  He made a fortune by importing the German glass ornaments to the US.

THEN CAME CHRISTOPHER RADKO, & THE REST IS CHRISTMAS TREE HISTORY!

ALL WEIGHTS & MEASUREMENTS ARE APPROXIMATE!