Hot Air Balloon Shaped Christmas Ornament
date: label: date made
content: 1870-1910
notes: label: Description
content: Holiday or Christmas ornament, in the shape of an aerostat or hot air balloon. Free-blown glass, unsilvered, pink balloon shape at top of ornament, with smaller, milky-white balloon shape at bottom, connected by long thin tube with glossy scrap paper putti attached. Paper was likely cut from a print. The entire ornament is wrapped in crinkle wire and thin coils. Metal cap attached at top with brown string tied for hanger. No mark. A reflection of the rise in popularity of hot air ballooning in the United States and Europe during the second half of the nineteenth century. This became a standard form of ornament produced during that time, into the twentieth century.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Germany
label: place made
content: Austria
label: place made
content: Czechoslovakia
label: place used
content: United States: District of Columbia, Washington
topic: label: subject association
content: Christmas
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: Domestic Furnishings
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Nancy M. and Robert R. Garvey, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1993.0157.03
label: catalog number
content: 1993.0157.03
label: accession number
content: 1993.0157
objectType: label: Object Name
content: ornament, christmas tree
label: Other Terms
content: Ornament; Decoration
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton string (hanger material)
label: Measurements
content: average spatial: 6 cm x 13.5 cm; 2 3/8 in x 5 5/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 in x 5 1/4 in x 2 in; 5.08 cm x 13.335 cm x 5.08 cm