Lötz Witwe, Loetz - Vase - 'Rusticana' - Iridescent glass

Johann Loetz Witwe, Klostermühle, Austria – Art Nouveau vase with decor 'Rusticana' – 1899

'Rusticana' is a relatively early decor from 1899, a predominantly Crete-based bright green decor with a bark-like knobby surface. This information can be found in the Loetz catalog by Jan Mergl from 2003.

The vase has an elegant and sober form with a flared rim and a cut pontil. The vase is exceptionally marked on the pontil: 'Loetz Austria'. Compare with the factory signature from the same period in the Mergl catalog (see illustration).

The vase is in very good condition with only minor signs of aging.

The vase is 19 cm high, the widest diameter is 12 cm.

Photos are part of the description. It will be carefully packed, insured, and shipped to your home with a tracking code. We do not ship outside the EU and to countries with a special customs status.

Lötz/Loetz was founded in 1840 by Johann Lötz and was a company located in Bohemia that belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1879 a grandson of Lötz, Max Ritter-Von Spaun, took over the business from his grandmother and kept the name Joh. Lötz Witwe.

From that moment, Johann Lötz Witwe really began to make a name for themselves; they developed new innovative glass techniques, but also their design and vivid colors were totally revolutionary. They designed distinctive shapes and vases, luxury items, which they sold in luxury shops in Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, London, Milan, Brussels, and Madrid. It quickly made them very famous and renowned.

It was the period when Art Nouveau flourished. They used organic forms, nature was their model, often the shapes were formed organically by bending hot glass with pliers to give uneven forms.

Lötz participated in various World’s Fairs, including the famous 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. They were awarded numerous prizes for their participation in world exhibitions. Their designs were popular, also in the United States. They were able to produce iridescent glass. In short, Lötz had become an institution. And that is still the case today.

Lötz also worked closely with other glass manufacturers and with various artists, such as Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, and other artists of the Wiener Werkstätte. In the twenties, tighter vases were produced, more in line with the Art Deco style of those years.

Lötz survived until 1940; after a bombing, the factory was completely burned down. The glass of Lötz remains very popular and is collected worldwide, and their oeuvre is also found in many museum collections.