Lötz Witwe Klášterský Mlýn, Czech Republic

Products from this producer offered by Prague Art & Design

The Art Nouveau glass originating from the J. Lötz Witwe glassworks is widely appreciated as one of the ultimate achievements resulting from the artistic development of glass production in the Czech Republic. The Johann Lötz Witwe glassworks based in the city of Klášterský Mlýn were established in 1836 by the glass cutter Johann Lötz (1778–1844) from the Nový Hrad region. His factory produced high-quality layered and refinely cut and engraved alabaster glass. After Witwe’s death, the company was run by his wife for several years and, in 1879, was eventually taken over by her grandson, Knight Maximilian Spaun. It was only under his activity when the glassworks gained international renown linked with many exhibition awards.

The great diversity of shapes testifies to a high standard of craftsmanship and sense of material of the local glassmakers. Their decorative methods employed numerous techniques including wafers and the co-called combed and marquetry patterns. The most impressive effects were achieved by opalescent, nacreous and metallic glossy surfaces, the so-called iris, which ranks amongst the characteristic technologies employed in glassmaking during the Art Nouveau period. The factory produced glass after designs by numerous leading artists: Leopold Bauer, Marie Kirschnerová, Josef Hoffmann, Michael Powolny and many others. In the period around 1900, the production range of the Lötz glassworks was heavily influenced by the oeuvre of L. C. Tiffany both from the artistic aspect and technology. During the Second World War, however, the fame of the glassworks declined and the facility eventually closed in 1947