Lötz Witwe, Loetz - Vase - 'Ruby Papillon' - Iridescent glass

Johann Loetz Witwe, Klostermühle, Austria – Art Nouveau - Ruby Papillon – 1900

The body of this vase is made in Ruby, a dark violet glass that is almost black, and was finished with a greenish-blue iridescent Papillon decoration from around 1900. This information can be found in the Loetz catalog by Jan Mergl from 2003.

The vase is in excellent condition with only minor signs of aging. We note a few kiln faults on the body (see photos).

The vase is 21.5 cm tall and the widest diameter is about 10 cm.

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

Loetz/Lötz 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 entirely 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 well known and famous.

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

Lötz participated in various world exhibitions, including the famous Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900. They were awarded many 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 a household name. And that is still the case.

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, sleeker vases were produced, more in line with the Art Deco style of those years.

Lötz existed until 1940; after a bombing, the factory was completely destroyed.

Lötz glass remains very popular and is collected worldwide, and its oeuvre can also be found in many museum collections.