3-Metre Blue Glass Bead Garland

Glass beads, strung bead by bead, in a sea-blue that shifts as it catches the light. No two beads are alike - some read almost silver-blue, others deepen into teal and petrol blue. It is a faithful reproduction of an original from 1910: the same generous bauble size, the same slightly irregular gourd shapes where the glass was pinched between beads. Garlands like this came from Lauscha in Thuringia, home of the first blown glass Christmas ornaments, and Gablonz in Bohemia, centre of the glass bead trade. A glassblower worked a rod of glass over an open flame, blowing a continuous chain of beads, then silvered them from the inside - the technique behind mercury glass - before dipping the strand in coloured lacquer. The years from 1900 to 1914 were the high point, with vast numbers exported to Britain and America. The First World War broke the supply chains and the craft never fully recovered. Until now. Material: Glass Measurement: 3-Meter long with 1.4 cm. baubles (Almost 10 feets long and 0.55 in. baubles)