Page 15 - 2022 Glass Editorial

to cocktail glasses, decanters, swizzle sticks, ashtrays, smoking acces-
sories, and glass vases to a post-war, consumer-hungry U.S. market.
Lalique passed away on May 1, 1945, but his brand and the business
lived on, next in the hands of his son, Marc Lalique. Today, Rene’s
work is part of the collections of major institutions around the world,
including the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, the Lalique
Museum and the Decorative Arts Museum in France, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Corning Museum in New York,
and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Prices continue to reflect the
continued collectability and renowned artistry of its founder and the
cache of its brand.

THE LEGACY OF Lalique Glass

Lalique is perhaps best known for the range of finishes he applied to
his glass, including polishing, enameling, and frosting, which was a
particularly successful way of adding depth and emphasis to his designs,
similar to the way an artist would use graphite for shading. Though he
was not the inventor of opalescent glass, he made the most creative use
of it within his designs, which involves mixing or injecting a chemical
concoction (including arsenic) into the glass, then cooling and heating
the glass repeatedly until the area becomes opalescent. René Lalique's
opalescent glass designs are more expensive to collect than his clear
pieces, as production stopped following his death in 1945.

Detail of signature on bottom
Figures with Grapes, a six-part wood encased set of molded white glass
consisting of three smaller grape decorated top pieces and 3 larger figural long Formose model, 1924, Red-colored
pieces with nudes in various poses. The model was designed in 1928 for the glass with fish, 7" tall, also produced
Côte d’Azur Pullman Express. These panels were installed in all the prestigious in green, opalescent blue, opalescent
new Pullman cars, the most luxurious ones of the company. The train white, dark grey, and orange glass.
Côte d’Azur Pullman Express was inaugurated on December 9th, 1929, A green version, ca. 1924, is up for
in France. One wagon featuring these panels by Lalique is currently preserved sale at Pridhm’s Auctions in
by the French government and has French Historic Monument classification.
Ottowa, Ontario with an estimate
of $7,500-$9,500. photo: art-lalique.fr

for the Oviatt Building in Los Angeles, Lalique was also a true industrialist
shipping 30 tons of his R. Lalique glass designer, embracing the use of molds and
through the Panama Canal to get it to Los contemporary manufacturing processes as
Angeles. He also participated in the interior well as traditional techniques, to reach the
design of the vast first-class dining room of highest quality of finish. Many rival glass-
the luxury liner Normandie, designing makers tried to imitate his designs but with
lighting columns and chandeliers for this little success. His process involved making a
colossus of the seas, and was particularly mold of his design and then pouring molten
renowned for the glass hood ornaments he glass into it and letting it cool, however, this
designed and produced for cars. René varied – sometimes the vessel would be hand-
Lalique's car mascot creations are legendary blown and then decorated with molded ele-
to this day and can often sell for well over ments.
$200,000 for the rarest of these works. Since the 1970s there has been a strong
They are also the most sought-after of all following for Lalique around the world as
car mascots, not just by collectors of collectors continue to admire the luxury and
“R Lalique,” but also by general glass glamour of his designs. The enduring popu-
collectors and antique car collectors. larity of the brand is also in part due to the
His exposure at the Exposition also range of designs on the market, from plates
allowed Lalique to expand his brand into to clocks, boxes to ashtrays, vases to mirrors,
the United States. While the name Lalique Having made everything from fountains to light fittings it’s no statuettes to cocktail stirrers. Car collectors
was well-known throughout Europe, the surprise Lalique should have been asked to design something and perfume enthusiasts alike can find some-
conspicuous consumption of the Roaring suitably opulent for a car. That first commission came in thing to love in Lalique's vast back catalog
'20s created a demand for “R Lalique” and 1925 and from no less than André Citroën to adorn but those who are new to collecting in this
other European luxury brand items in the the radiator cap of his 5CV – the Cinq Chevaux (The Five category are advised to begin with the design-
Horses.) Other designs were repurposed: Lalique’s 1920
United States. Lalique was able to gain a Sirène (Mermaid) was originally sold as a decorative piece er's glass jewelry, produced in striking Art
foothold in the U.S. luxury market up until and often used as a paperweight, but its size and shape Nouveau and Art Deco styles and starting at
the start of the Depression, exporting meant it could be easily adapted. Lalique designed around affordable estimates.
everything from glass dressing table 30 mascots in all, depicting anything from birds to
accessories––hand mirrors, trinket boxes, dragonflies, falcons to comets. photo: Bonham’s
atomizers, perfume burners, and bottles––

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