In the European context, the Johann Lötz Witwe Glassworks in Klášterský Mlýn (Klostermühle), in the Šumava Mountains, was one of the continent’s most important glass manufacturers. Established in 1836, the company embraced the Art Nouveau style by the late 1880s. At the time, objects imitating semi precious stones (onyx, carnelian and malachite glass) were included in its production programme, but the Art Nouveau idiom truly flourished with the introduction of the Phaenomen (Phänomen) edition in 1898. These pieces were decorated with glass trailswrapped around the body in regular horizontal spirals and combed while hot into symmetrical or free-form compositions. Coloured underlay glass formed the body for these designs. Decorated in a variety of décors and shapes, the Phänomen product line was manufactured until 1903.