Loetz Candia Papillon Vase c.1899

Made in Klostermühle at around 1899, this impressive Loetz Candia Papillon glass vase, with splashes of yellow, gold and green iridescence, is a truthful example of Loetz's glory years, from 1898 to 1905, both in terms of financial revenues and international awards. This came at a time when Tiffany's global influence pressured the glassmakers of Bohemia to realise the market potential of the Art Nouveau style. With its delicate beauty and flowing curves, the vase on sale represents the move from Historicism to the vitality and creativity of the Art Nouveau-Jugendstil era, particularly to the symbolism of nature. The vase's spots remind us of a butterfly, or "papillon" in French, of its iridescent wings and metallic colourings of its thorax. "Candia" refers to something gold that glows white, making allusion to the making of the iridescent glass, or to the chalky golden colour of the Mediterranean Island of Crete. We can find similarities with Antonio Gaudi's wrought iron and glass door of La Pedrera-Casa Milà in Barcelona, Spain (1906-1912). Like our vase, the door's wide spots allow the passage of light into the "lobby," creating a mesmerising effect of colour.