Vase

This unsigned glass vase with a metal neck mount was possibly manufactured at Carle Stölzle Glassworks in Suchenthal, Bohemia, around 1905. [1] However, this type of vase has been frequently attributed to Loetz Witwe, making it difficult to confirm the site of production. [2] It is possible that the vase’s distinctive metal neck mount was supplied to a number of glassworks in Bohemia and that it alone cannot be used to accurately identify the glass manufacturer.

Blow-moulded in green, iridescent glass, the vase is cylindrical in form with decorative indentations pressed into its walls. Tubular and narrow, the neck of the vessel is encircled by a metal mount that has been die-stamped with an openwork pattern of stylised water lilies.

The neck mount captures the tranquillity of an ornamental pond. Suspended in space, the aquatic plants’ long stems create sinuous overlapping lines against the vibrant green colour of the glass. Imaginative interpretations of nature were a key characteristic of Art Nouveau design.

Between 1890 and 1910, the Art Nouveau style shaped the aesthetics of European and American architecture and applied design. The Austro-German counterpart to Art Nouveau, ‘Jugendstil’ (Youth Style), took its name from the Munich-based journal Die Jugend, which featured illustrations by Secessionist artists and avant-garde designers. [3] Bohemian glassworks were conscious of these artistic developments and catered to the growing demand in Europe’s capital cities for innovative Jugendstil designs.

Vanessa Tothill, February 2021

[1] https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/285201-an-obscure-bohemia-glass-plant-in-suchen [accessed 2 February 2021]; https://antikes-glas.de/en/carl-stoelzle/nouveau-vase-rose-colored-glass-with-metal-montage-carl-stoelzle-search-p-1949.html [accessed 2 February 2021]; https://www.lauritz.com/da/auktion/vase-glas-gruen-mit-metallmontierung-wohl-carl-stoelzle-suc/i4527312/ [accessed 2 February 2021] [2] https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/Loetz-Iridescent-Art-Glass-Vase/17cin544m099-loetz_iridescent-28.9.17-ebth [accessed 2 February 2021];

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/c1900-loetz-bohemian-glass-inkwell-442782862 [accessed 2 February 2021]; https://avaluer.org/explore/28108230-antique_loetz_iridescent_green_glass_vase___water_lily_metalwork__gorgeous_1905 [accessed 2 February 2021] [3] Mario Amaya, Art Nouveau (London: Dutton Vista, 1966), p. 124; Paul Greenhalgh, ed., Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 (London: V&A Publications, 2000), p. 290.