Johann Loetz Witwe – Josef Hoffmann & Attributed to Koloman Moser for E. Bakalowits Söhne – Olympia

A rare Loetz ‘Vase in a Wooden Stand’, presented at the VIII Exhibition of the Vienna Secession in 1900.

An exceptional ‘Vase im Holzgestell’, created around 1900 for the Viennese firm E. Bakalowits Söhne. The pale green iridescent glass vase was executed by Johann Loetz Witwe in the subtle Olympia décor and rests in a sculptural wooden mount. The strongly ribbed glass form with its undulating rim evokes an opening flower bud and harmonizes beautifully with the organic curves of the wooden stand.

The glass form is historically attributed to Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956) and documented under production number 85/1135 from 1899. The design belongs to the remarkable series of Vasen in Holzgestellen presented at the VIII Exhibition of the Vienna Secession. In a surviving period photograph, this model is prominently positioned at the centre of the display.

Viennese Loetz specialist Dr. Ernst Ploil, however, has pointed to the distinctly floral, early Secessionist character of the wooden mount, which in his view relates more closely to the work of Koloman Moser (1868–1918) than to Hoffmann’s designs of this period. It is therefore plausible that the object represents an artistic collaboration: a glass form designed by Hoffmann combined with a wooden mount attributed to Moser, executed for Bakalowits.

The art-historical significance of the design is further emphasized by identical glass forms in important museum collections: an example in Luna décor is preserved in the Leopold Museum in Vienna, while an example in Syrius décor forms part of the collection of the Neue Galerie New York.

The combination of Hoffmann’s documented glass design, the mount attributed to Moser, Loetz’s innovative glassmaking and its historical presentation at the Vienna Secession makes this vase a remarkable document of avant-garde Viennese design around 1900.