LOETZ Glass vase
Lot 34
1 0001 200
height: 19 cm
diameter: 16 cm
The glass factory established by Johann Eisner in 1836, in the South Bohemian town of Klostermühle, was sold to the lawyer Frank Gerstner and his wife Susanne who was the widow («Witwe» in German) of Johann Loetz, a glassmaker about whom very little is known. Susanne successfully ran the company now called «Johann Loetz Witwe» mainly manufacturing crystal, overlay and painted glass. In 1879, Susanne transferred the company to Maximilian von Spaun, the son of her daughter Karoline. A year later, von Spaun hired Eduard Prochaska and both modernized the factory introducing new techniques and patented processes.
Successes at exhibitions in Brussels, Munich and Vienna were crowned with prizes at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889. In 1897, von Spaun saw Tiffany’s products on display in Bohemia and Vienna, which convinced him that the Art Nouveau style was the future for “Loetz Witwe”.
The special, typical colour and relief of Loetz glasses give them an extremely refined touch.
Loetz was also one of the pioneers in the use of electroplating techniques and patented many of them. The innovative and original shapes used by Loetz, inspired by ancient Persian and Roman glass objects, are typical of Art Nouveau glassware. Other popular Loetz designs are the vases inspired by nature and decorated with original «swan neck» or “goose neck” shapes or «peacock» colours in iridescent blue-green tones.