Loetz vase Franz Hofstötter PG 377 ca. 1900

The glasses in this series, created by Loetz glassworks for the 1900 Paris World Exhibition, are among the most coveted objects for Loetz collectors. Their decors are considered some of the most beautiful and technically intricate ever produced by the company.
For the exhibition, Loetz aimed to showcase entirely new, artistically independent products. The painter, sculptor, and applied arts designer Franz Hofstötter was commissioned to design innovative vase shapes and create new decors for the pieces he envisioned. In doing so, he was tasked with highlighting the glassworks’s technical achievements, particularly its iridescent surface decorations, while simultaneously bringing his own modern artistic vision to life.
Our vase is one of Hofstötter’s thirteen confirmed designs. Its distinctive decoration, known as Phenomen Genre 377, was unveiled for the first time at the Paris World Exhibition. The cracked, uneven surface was a stark departure from previous decorative styles, offering a striking aesthetic and tactile experience that quickly gained popularity in the years that followed. A historical photograph shows the model at the 1900 exhibition, and its shape is also documented in the factory’s archive of pattern cuts. The signature “Loetz Austria” on the bottom indicates that the vase was produced after the World Exhibition, between 1900 and 1903.