LOETZ. Czech Republic, ca. 1910.
Art Nouveau vase.
Blown glass.
No signature.
Vases of similar characteristics and decorations at www.loetz.com/decoraciones.
Provenance: Spanish private collection, formed between 1970 and 1995.
Measurements: 30 cm (height); 11 cm (largest diameter).
Art Nouveau vase of clear floral inspiration, made in yellow glass, iridescent on the inside. It is made using the air-blowing technique, and the organic appearance of the upper part, imitating a leaf, has been obtained by hot modelling the glass, using tweezers and other tools. The iridescent, multicoloured and irregular appearance of the upper part is typical of Art Nouveau glass, characterised by its ornamental sense and technical experimentation.
The quality of the materials and the workmanship of the glass is common in the Loetz firm, especially in the use of iridescent glass, widely used in Central European modernism, characterised by its chromatism, which changes according to the angle of incidence of light on its surface, and by its metallic appearance. This material, the result of intensive technical research carried out in the artistic glass workshops of the second half of the 19th century, is obtained by adding various metallic oxides to the base mass of glass.
Loetz, founded in 1840, was a pioneer in the use of new techniques and materials, following the line of experimentation of the glass artists of the second half of the 19th century. The firm took part in the 1889 Paris International Exhibition, where its pieces were unanimously acclaimed by the critics.