There are many collectors, admirers and buyers of Bohemian glass Christmas tree ornaments throughout the world. Artistic quality, technological finesse, resourcefulness of decoration, acceptable prices and able traders all combine to guarantee such products a continual share of the world market. It is surprising then, given the colourful past and present of Bohemian glass Christmas tree ornaments, that not a single collected publication on the subject has been released in Czech, with foreign authors concentrating more on the typological and art science side of affairs rather than the historical. Given that our museum is now in charge of the largest public collection of Christmas tree ornaments in the world, we decided to put this situation right.
This book presents glass Christmas tree ornaments from the heart of Europe as a viable discipline with a very interesting production tradition, the reason we have included the subtitle of “past, present and vision”. A great deal of information is published here for the very first time, other information in new contexts. There are also plenty of pictures to view. The publication features texts about the origins of decorating Christmas trees, specific historical data on the production of glass Christmas tree ornaments in Bohemia, emphasising the Podkrkonoší and Jablonec areas, a typology of ornaments, basic information on production and decorative processes, profiles of companies past and present (Václav Berger, DUV, Ornex, Rautis), ornaments created specifically for this project by renowned Czech glass artist living in Sweden Milan Vobruba and the remarkable results of the “Master of Crystal” competition for students organised by Preciosa in association with our museum. Worthy of special note is the highly personal article from the pen of renowned art historian, collector and author of several books on the subject of Christmas tree ornaments Dr. Waltraud Neuwirth.
