Vase Hans Bolek Loetz etching decoration Werkbund exhibition 1914

Vase, Hans Bolek, Johann Loetz Witwe, etched decoration, Werkbund exhibition 1914

Particularly since the turn of the century, the Johann Loetz Witwe glass manufactory has sought collaborations with renowned European artists. Thus, in advance to the Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne, 1914, the architect Hans Bolek supplied the glassworks with a series of designs.

Hans Bolek, a student of Josef Hoffmann, persuades with a strict, Viennese manner with his striking etched decoration. This excellently preserved piece of Jugendstil glass belongs to the group of multi-layered overlay glasses. The heart leaf frieze, which is interrupted by vertical stripes, is particularly striking and typical for Bolek’s designs. Above all, the simplicity of these lines allows for an aesthetic balance to the otherwise playful decorative vegetal ornaments The use of a geometrically reduced frieze reinforces the aesthetic interaction between these two contrasting qualities within the decoration.

Bib.: E. Ploil, H. Ricke u.a. (Hg.), „Loetz – Böhmisches Glas 1880-1940“, vol. II, Musterschnitte, Prestel Verlag, München 1989, paper pattern 663, p. 230.