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ABOUT PATRICIA BREEN
Patricia Breen ornaments are mouth-blown into molds in Poland, then hand-painted and embellished by a small group of skilled artisans — a process closer to studio glass than to manufacturing. Molds are retired and never reissued, which is why individual designs become difficult to find once a production year closes. Many were made in limited numbers for a single retailer or a single season.
What sets these apart on a tree is the finish. Breen uses genuine German glass glitter — crushed glass, not plastic flake — so the surfaces refract light rather than simply bouncing it back. Under tree lights the color moves as you move: golds warm, greens deepen, pearl grounds shift. It\'s an effect no photograph fully captures, and it\'s the reason collectors keep coming back to these.
FABLES & LEGENDS — THREE STORY ORNAMENTS
Three Patricia Breen ornaments, each one telling a story rather than simply depicting a subject. Narrative pieces are among the harder Breen designs to find, and a grouping of three that holds together thematically is unusual on the secondary market.
Adam & Eve — a fully sculptural tree standing on a gold-glittered ground, the trunk modeled in warm browns, the canopy built from overlapping green leaves in alternating matte and glitter finishes with red apples worked among them. A pale green serpent coils through the branches, its scales picked out in gold. Adam and Eve stand together against the trunk, modeled in the round with painted hair and downcast faces. The figures appear on the front; the reverse gives the tree and serpent alone, so the piece reads two ways depending on how it\'s turned. Catalogued by Breen as Adam & Eve.
The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs — a white glass-glittered goose with an orange bill, standing on a gilded clip mount so she perches directly on a branch rather than hanging. Suspended below on a wire is a cluster of five golden glass eggs, each individually capped and glittered. Aesop\'s fable rendered in glass. Clip-mounted Breen pieces are less common than hanging ones, and the egg cluster is the sort of multi-part element that usually goes missing — this one is complete.
Spider & Web — a two-part ornament. The larger disc is a pearl and cream web with the radial and spiral threads worked in fine pink-gold glitter and a small jeweled spider at the center, her body set with green and blue pavé. Above it hangs a smaller iridescent green disc bearing a black glass spider in high relief. In Central European tradition — the same region where these ornaments are made — the spider\'s web on the Christmas tree is the origin story of tinsel, turned to silver by the morning sun.
PROVENANCE
All three pieces were acquired new from Neiman Marcus in the early 2000s and are from Patricia Breen\'s early production years — the period collectors regard as the height of the line\'s hand-detailing. Neiman Marcus was Breen\'s most significant early retail partner, and a substantial portion of what they carried was produced exclusively for them. Ornaments from this era carry Breen\'s generic hang tags; named, numbered tags were not introduced until later.
CONDITION
Pristine. This grouping has lived its entire life in a smoke-free home, carefully displayed and properly stored between seasons. No chips, cracks, flea bite, or paint loss. Original caps, hangers, clip mount and drops intact and complete. Please review all photographs, which show front, back and detail views.
SHIPPING & PACKING
Each ornament is individually wrapped and double-boxed, with multi-part assemblies separated and cushioned. These are fragile glass pieces and they are packed accordingly.
