Untitled
Category
Glass
Date
c. 1800 - c. 1900
Materials
Glass
Measurements
330 mm (Diameter)
Order this imageCollection
Treasurer's House, North Yorkshire
NT 592934
Caption
It looks a little like a disco ball, but was this large, glass globe once used to protect its owner’s home? It was purchased by keen collector Frank Green (1861–1954), the owner of Treasurer’s House, who believed it was a witch ball. Witch balls were hung in cottage windows as protective charms, and the shiny glass surface was meant to reflect and neutralise the ‘evil eye’ of passing witches. The belief that a witch could inflict death or illness simply by looking at a person or animal was widespread. Glass witch balls were produced in various sizes and were still popular in the 19th century. Frank Green is thought to have purchased at least three witch balls. He gave two to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which experts now think are actually late 19th-century Christmas baubles. This large glass ball still hangs at Treasurer’s House, which was given to the National Trust in 1930. Green meticulously arranged the property’s contents and allegedly warned that, if changes were made to the room layouts, he would return to haunt the building.
Summary
Lustre globe or 'Witch's Ball' with ring and chain.
Provenance
Part of the contents of Treasurer's House when it was transferred to the National Trust by Frank Green in 1930 (see 1930 inventory, listed as '15" lustre ball' in the Court Room).