Loetz Biography
Johann Loetz (1778-1848) takes over the glass factory in Klostermühle (today Kastersky Mlyn) founded by Johann Baptist Eisner von Eisenstein in 1836. After his death the factory is directed by his wife, Susanna Huskova (b. 1809), with the inscription in the Commercial Register (Pisek District Court) under the name Johann Loetz Witwe. In 1879 his nephew, Baron Max Ritter von Spaun, took the reins of the glass factory; modernizing the procedures, he called the technician Eduard Prochaska to the artistic direction, a tireless inventor of new techniques and obtained numerous patents. With the processing of glass imitating semi-precious stones, marbled and veined ones, he began the decorations called Intarsia, made with hot inclusions of serpentines or tablets of colored glass in a clear glass, and Octopus, with different shades associated with blue turquoise, with opalescent ornaments set in gold. Around 1890 he began with the first iridescences of glass with metallic reflection, arriving at the end of the century with the creation of Phänomen glass with applications and inserts of partly metallic glass filament, similar to Tiffany glass and the famous Papillon glass, in numerous variations and color combinations, characterized by a decoration made up of iridescent dots or plates, evoking the appearance of the wings of small butterflies. In the decade before the end of the century, he created other glasses called Colombia, for the image dedicated to Christopher Columbus, Pavonia an amber glass, Alpenrot and Alpengrün light and bright colored glasses, and again Rusticana and Pampas. At the beginning of the century he created Calliope, a blue-green iridescent glass decorated with floral designs, Formosa, very similar to Calliope but with abstract motifs, Creta, iridescent glass with relief ornaments, Cytisus, pearly glass with golden iridescence, Orpheo, glass amber with iridescence and luster (a technique that belongs to ceramics, but which also lends itself to glass), with a particular shine and extraordinary iridescent reflections, which is closest to Tiffany's Favrile. Furthermore, around 1910, the factory offered cameo glass according to French taste, with two layers and acid-engraved floral motifs. In 1908 Max Freiherr von Spaun Jr. (b. 1883) succeeded his father in the management of the company, which now had 200 workers, and in the following year Adolf Beckert (1884-1929) was called to the artistic direction and remained, profitably collaboration, until 1911, when he was called to teach at the prestigious School of Glass Art in Steinschënau. There are many creators of the models and decorations: the most important collaborator is undoubtedly the painter Maria Kirschner, author, between 1898 and 1914, of 270 models created in series by the factory; the architect Leopold Bauer (1872-1938) created over 60 models that stand out for the value of the purity of the forms; Franz Hofstätter designed the series of vases that won the Grand Prix in Paris in 1900. Adolf Beckert himself enriched the collection with plant-themed compositions for acid engravings on multi-layered glass, with an original concept completely different from the traditional engraving technique to acid, obtaining, by repeated etching, very elaborate reliefs. Starting in 1900, the projects of Kolo Moser and his students Jutta Sika, Antonietta Krasnik and Robert Hollubetz were carried out on behalf of Bakalowits & Söhne. The artists of the Wiener Werkstätte, whose designs Loetz puts into production, cannot be missing from the collaboration; among these Josef Hoffmann, Otto Prutscher, Michael Powolny, Dagobert Peche. In 1911, although the price of Loetz products was lower than that of Tiffany, the economic crisis led the company to bankruptcy. It now becomes a joint stock company and, downsized, resumes in 1913; the von Spauns also continue to be members and the new company name becomes Johann Lötz Witwe Gesellschaft mbH. The new management, in addition to soliciting the artists of the Wiener Werkstätte for the projects, requests the collaboration of the designers Carl Witzmann, Hans Bolek, Milla Weltmann, Arnold Nechansky, Cesar Poppovits. In 1914 Loetz employed 150 employees and the production involved vases, bowls, cups, boxes, candlesticks, chandeliers, lampshades, tiles and glass sets; exports resume throughout the world, including South America and Australia. The factory presents its glass in numerous exhibitions: among the most important are the Chicago Universal Exhibition of 1893, the Paris Universal Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900, where it received the Grand Prix, the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Arts in Turin of 1902, the Saint Louis Universal Exposition of 1904; his last participation in an international exhibition was in 1925 in Paris, at the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Loetz products do not bear the signature. Normally certain pieces intended for export are signed, when the signature is requested by the customer. Only the acid-etched cameo glasses are all signed. A certain number of Maria Kirschner's pieces are monogrammed with the letters M and H forming a single mark, or with the initials MKH; Adolf Beckert's glasses bear the letter A above the B; sometimes the signature is Loetz or LO Loetz or Loetz Austria, the last two names, both in lowercase and uppercase; and again LOETZ WITWE AUSTRIA; Lötz, or Spaun or even Austria. One of these last three names can be found accompanied by a mark formed by a circle crossed by two crossed arrows with four stars at the corners. Other glass is signed MILLA WELTMANN LOETZ; the monogram formed by the letters M and K inserted one into the other is by Kolo Moser, sometimes accompanied by Loetz. Sometimes the signature is marked on the paper label, with the addition of the manufacturing number.
