Loetz vase with water nymph PG 358 ca. 1901

At the turn to the 20th century, Symbolism could not only be found in European Fine art, but also in arts and crafts. A beautiful example is this square Loetz-vase with figural symbolistic mounting.
The vessel’s shape was created for Viennese glass editor E. Bakalowits Sohne, who commissioned designs with renowned architects and other artists around 1900. The décor PG 358 was designed by Franz Hofstötter for Paris World Fair 1900. On top the sheet bearing the pattern cut for the vase, the name Friedrich Böhm und Sohn is featured. Upon further research, it turns out that Friedrich Böhm was a teacher at Kunstgewerbeschule – Vienna school of arts and crafts. Therefore, it can be assumed that this object has been designed at Kunstgewerbeschule. The actual designer, however, remains unknown.
The kneeling female nude is reminiscent of a water nymph crouching at a fountain. Longingly, she nestles against the edge of the vessel, her flowing hair literally washing around the glass. The hair is rhythmically undulating and decorated with spherical, secessionist elements.
The motif of the figure could be borrowed from Gustav Klimt’s ink drawing “Fischblut” or from other illustrations in “Ver Sacrum”, the magazine of Vienna Secession from 1898. Stylistically, the work fits very well in the period around 1900/1901, in which artists such as Gustav Gurschner, repeatedly depicted women as nymph-like creatures.