Lötz Witwe, Loetz - Vase - 'Crete Vesuvian' - Iridescent glass

Johann Loetz Witwe, Klostermühle, Austria – Art Nouveau vase with decor ‘Vesuvian’ – 1901.

‘Vesuvian’ has a matte iridescent bright-green surface based on a Crete backing, with Crete applications in the form of large drops (dikkopjes) [note: likely ‘drops’].

This information can be found in the Loetz catalog by Jan Mergl from 2003 and on the Loetz glass website.

The vase is in excellent condition with only minor signs of aging. Nicely polished pontil. The vase is 15.5 cm high and the widest diameter is about 13 cm.

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

Lötz/Loetz was founded in 1840 by Johann Lötz and was a Bohemian company 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 itself; they developed new innovative glass techniques, but also their design and vivid colors were completely revolutionary. They designed exceptional shapes and vases, luxurious items, which they sold in luxury shops in Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, London, Milan, Brussels, and Madrid. It quickly made them very well known and famous.

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

Loetz took part in various world exhibitions, including the famous 1900 World’s Fair in Paris. They were awarded numerous prizes for participation in world exhibitions. Their designs were popular, also in the United States. They were able to make iridescent glass. In short, Loetz had become a byword. And that is still the case.

Loetz 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, neater vases were produced more in line with the Art Deco style of that era.

Loetz existed until 1940; after a bombing the factory burned down completely.

Loetz glass remains very popular and is collected worldwide; in addition, their oeuvre can be found in many museum collections.