Mouth-blown Christmas bauble
The hand-decorated "Angel" Christmas tree bauble made of mouth-blown glass is part of the Palle Presepe collection (Italian: Christmas bauble nativity scene) from A di Alessi . There it represents one of the classic nativity figures that perform their nativity play directly on the Christmas tree.
The tradition of the decorated Christmas tree with large and small colored balls made of blown glass dates back to the middle of the 1 9. century, when a particularly dry year in the Vosges deprived the fir trees of their green needles. A glassblower from Goetzenbruck came up with the idea of blowing lots of small glass objects to hang up to counteract the sad sight of the bare branches. The round shape was the quickest to realize and so the many colourful Christmas baubles were created, which were soon to become a tradition in different countries and cultures. It was not until 1964 that the glass factory in Goetzenbruck ceased industrial production of Christmas baubles. Over time, the traditional Christmas decorations made of blown glass changed their shape, with additional small decorations or some typical Christmas motifs such as Santa Claus, bells, stars and sleighs being added.
Later, it was Marcello Jori who, with his creative spirit and irony, created the "Palle Presepe", triggering a small revolution at Alessi . He says that although he had a Christmas tree at home every year, he envied those who put up nativity scenes with figures that seemed so much more alive than the decorative elements on the tree. Marcello Jori: "Finally, one night I dreamt of an angel who was attaching never-before-seen baubles to the Christmas tree, which spoke, sang and prayed. Some were saints, stars or animals and one that shone brighter than all the others was the baby Jesus."
Jori's dream came true. Now these hand-decorated balls made of mouth-blown glass really do exist. The "Palle Presepe" form the classic ten nativity figures that create a whole new Christmas tree with imagination and a little irony: Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus, the ox and donkey, the angel, the star and the Magi.