Some observations on Loetz

I am very attracted to COLOR- but not "murky Black Forest creature" type stuff, more like "bright citrus meets circus candy" type colors. I still wonder how people reacted to the "new style" when they first A whole glass case of this candy. This type of glass had hints of this decor as early as 1909 but became available in mass production in 1914. Loetz Tango glass is special because of the quality and workmanship; It was copied as soon as it was produced. The shapes challenge the idea of glass being made by hand- they look machine made to me, almost like they were spun in a lathe. Some of the shapes seem to scream Deco- even before deco was penned, (some shapes look Bauhaus as well).

I often compare glass collecting to my first passion in glass that was Marble collecting. In marble production you see the same thing: Organic hand turned glass going mechanized in production, glass looking transparent into opache, and finally the colors shifting from spinning millifiorre canes to simple solid color, Ie... Chinese checkers. Tango glass is exactly like plastic; an invention that changed the world.

When displaying Tango I prefer to put colors together that set each other apart. I still remember a glass case at W. N."s house with 40 pieces in it, they looked like bright children's toys all crowding together- in every shape and color imaginable.

Pic 1
Lavender next to burgundy in the Tri-handle series

Pic 2
A color study in three shades of yellow. Goldenrod,Yellow, and Lemon

Pic. 3
Flashed Tango in blue and (rare) orange - by the way this type (that glass incorporates cobalt papillon decor with Tango) is is rarely made with orange yet- orange is the most common Tango color produced

Pic. 4
Cameo cut-back technique on Tri-handle shape. It's odd to me that these pieces were produced because they seem to involve so many steps. I imagine because of the cameo styles that three handle pieces were produced by Loetz then other factories did the acid decor. I would welcome any theories especially why some cameo handles are acid treated and some stayed glossy.