JOHANN LOETZ ANTIQUE GLASS VASES

Johann Loetz (Austrian, 1836 ~ 1947) founded his glass company by first acquiring the glassworks of 'Goldbrunn' in 1824. After his death in 1844, his widow Susanne renamed the company 'Johann Loetz Witwe' The Loetz glassworks existed in Klostermuhle, Austria, for just over a hundred years. But its heyday was during the life-time of Max Ritter Von Spaun, grandson of the original Johann Loetz who had founded the company. Von Spaun took over the company in 1879 and ran it until 1908, a year before his death. 

It was Von Spaun that built upon centuries-old experience and traditions of Bohemian glass, where Loetz quickly began to create its own new designs and decorative techniques. Building on earlier experience with iridescent glass the glassworks created what was to prove to be its masterpiece, the Phänomen series. This magnificent glass was characterized by trailed combed threads and bands and metallic iridescence. In this time Von Spaun was assisted by Eduard Prochaska, his technical specialist, and together they invented, designed and produced a whole series of wonderful new types of glass, taking out several patents and winning awards at all the major world exhibitions during the 1890’s and the first years of the new century.