Rarities...Stan Prickett is regarded as one of Australia's Loetz experts. Picture: Paul Harris
Many collectors are now interested in art glass, especially from the postwar period. Murano glass, the Scandinavian style and, as shown here last year, contemporary Australian designs are all now sought after. Yet art glass of distinction was also very popular in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries.
Tiffany is perhaps the best-known brand, while some would say that the product of the Loetz (pronounced ''Lertz'') studio was its equal. Loetz was part of a strong glass-producing industry in what was then the Bohemia region in the Austro-Hungarian empire.
The Loetz name became internationally recognised after its success at various Paris international expositions. Loetz won a Grand Prix in 1900 with a startling display of vases featuring a new technique of adding metallic oxides to the glass, which gave it an iridescent lustre.
Advertisement: Story continues belowProduced circa 1905, this Loetz vase is valued at $3000 in Australia - more if sold overseas.
The studio had also begun to experiment with organic shapes, supposedly inspired by the vases being excavated from Roman and Egyptian ruins. ''Twisted Tiffany'' is a common description of Loetz's style, a reference to the more formal designs of its main competitor.
In this fertile period from 1900 to 1920 it also tried radical techniques such as oil spots (Silberiris) and a crater-like surface (Diaspora). Its Neptun style features embossed seaweed shapes. The influence of the art nouveau and art deco movements is strong, while some earlier work was inspired by British designers such as Christopher Dresser and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Very few items came to Australia at the time but a few arrived with the influx of eastern European migrants after World War II. There's a possibility that Loetz vases may have been passed down but the current owners are unaware of their significance and value. Identifying a genuine Loetz from copies is not easy, unless it was one of the few pieces intended for export, marked with the Loetz Austria trademark in engraved script on the pontil. Even if this appears it could be one of many forgeries, some obvious, some not.
Loetz expert Stan Prickett, who has studied the works for more than 25 years, has even been fooled. Several other Bohemian manufacturers, notably Rindskopf and Kralik, produced similar styles and these may have been sold several times previously as a ''genuine Loetz'' with an appropriately inflated price. These still appear in antique shops and on eBay and shouldn't be bought until verified.
The internet makes identification a little easier but not always. The loetz.com website is recommended by Prickett. It includes a section on verification and forgeries.
Research can be well worth the time. If the design style and year of manufacture can be identified this adds greatly to its potential value. More so if the name of the designer can be attributed. The top Loetz designers include Adolf Beckert, Marie Kirschner, Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser.
Their individual styles are clearly identifiable by experts. The company also employed many secondary designers whose identities have been lost in time.
Loetz glass remains more popular overseas than here. A top piece valued at $2000 to $3000 in Australia would fetch about the same amount in pounds if sold in Britain. There is also strong demand in the US, especially New York.
Prickett says there are a few specialist Loetz collectors in Australia ''but you could count them on the fingers of your left hand''.
More plentiful is the new generation of enthusiasts who like art glass from all periods and all regions. Loetz is now likely to share the same shelf space as prime examples of Murano and Pukeberg glass.
It fits in well. Some of its abstract forms and experimental techniques appear surprisingly modern even by today's standards. It's hard to believe that many of these are more than 100 years old.
Well, not exactly his collection. The beautiful objects shown here are from various private collections, although most have been sourced through Stan Prickett, a former industrial relations officer who retired from the corporate world 20 years ago to concentrate on his love of antiques. Since then he has been running Yande Meannjin Antiques, housed in the Paddington Antique Centre in Brisbane.
Prickett has been interested in art glass since his early 20s. He is especially fascinated by Loetz but says quality pieces are rarely found here these days.
Prickett is regarded as one of Australia's experts on the identification of Loetz, although even he admits to having been fooled on occasion. One of his own vases, which he always assumed to be genuine, proved to be from another manufacturer. Few Loetz vases are marked and even those that are may be forgeries.
Anyone who thinks they may have a Loetz is welcome to contact Prickett (yande@iinet.com.au) or drop into his shop in Brisbane. He is happy to identify pieces from photos without charge, although he asks to be paid for valuations that may require considerable research.
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