Loetz Phänomen Glass Vase, ca. 1905

Appraised on: July 25, 2009

Appraised in: Denver, Colorado

Appraised by: Arlie Sulka

Category: Glass

Episode Info: Denver, Hour 3 (#1412)

Originally Aired: April 12, 2010

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (1:55)

GUEST: It was purchased in New York by my stepfather's father, and it's been in the family ever since. And really that's all I know.

APPRAISER: Well, who do you think made the vase?

GUEST: I'm hoping it's Tiffany. That's the family story. But I don't know because it isn't signed.

APPRAISER: Well, it's not Tiffany.

GUEST: It's not?

APPRAISER: It's not Tiffany, but it was made by another company that was just as prestigious. And the name of the company was Loetz.

GUEST: Loetz.

APPRAISER: Out of Austria. They were working at the same time as Tiffany, and oftentimes people mistake Loetz vases as being Tiffany.

GUEST: I wondered because it wasn't signed.

APPRAISER: And that's always confusing because there are Tiffany vases that are unsigned, and there are also Loetz vases that are unsigned. This is a decorated blown glass vase that was made between 1900 and 1905. Now, the reason I know that it's Loetz is, number one, the color of the vase. It's a specific type of decoration. It's called Phanomen. And the shape is a Loetz shape. It's really not a Tiffany shape. And the shape actually makes this extremely special, because a lot more work went into it than just making a regular vase and then putting the beautiful decoration on it. The other reason that I know that it's Loetz is the ground pontil that you see on the bottom. Now, the things that are similar to Tiffany in this decoration that you see are these lines here. They're actually, like, a sawtooth decoration. And these swirls. And also the fact that it's in iridescent design. But other than that, everything else of it speaks to Loetz. If this were sold in a retail shop, it would sell for at least $6,000.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: Thank you for bringing it in.

GUEST: Thank you very much. $6,000, wow. (laughs)