Germany 1890’s The kugel was a large hollow ball ranging in size from 1 inch to 18 inches. They are characterized by the thick glass walls and those other than silver were blown with colored glass. These ornaments were not sold in America until 1880. “Kugel” is a German word that means "ball". But not all Kugels were round—various shapes were produced over the years, with examples of grape clusters, pear and fantasy shapes, as well as this rare egg shape kugel .