The life of rene
lalique and his artistic career covered the three most important
movements in the field of decorative arts - Arts
and Crafts, Art Nouveau and Art
Deco.
Rene Lalique was born René Jules Lalique in Ay, France on
April 6, 1860, He became an iconic glass designer, especially noted
for his stunning creations which, included perfume bottles, vases,
jewellery, chandeliers, clocks and car bonnet ornaments.
The company Lalique founded in 1885,
still operates and its creations are still sought after by the modern
collector. His beautiful jewellery designs and stunning glasswork
contributed significantly to the art nouveau movement.
Recognising her son's artistic talent, his mother steered him at
the age of 16 to an apprenticeship with the famous Paris jeweler,
Louis Aucoc. By the age of 21, Lalique was creating his own original
jewellery.
From 1878-1880 he attended Sydenham
Art College in London, and on returning to France, he worked for
Aucoq, Cartier, Boucheron and others.
In 1882 he became a freelance designer
for several top jewellery houses in Paris and four years later established
his own jewellery workshop.
By 1890, Lalique was recognized as
one of France's foremost art nouveau jewellery designers; creating
innovative pieces for Samuel Bing's new Paris shop, La Maison de
l'Art Nouveau.
He went on to be one of the most famous in his field, his name
is now synonymous with creativity and quality.
In the 1920s he became famous for
his work in the Art Deco style and among other things he was responsible
for the walls of lighted glass and the elegant glass columns that
filled the dining room and grand salon of the SS Normandie.
Much of his jewellery is exquisitely delicate, and depicts natural
forms like flowers, leaves and seed pods. His pieces often had little
or no intrinsic value as he didn't use large gemstones in his work.
He refined the use of glass in jewellery, not as imitation diamonds
or other precious stones, but as a painter uses paint.
Rene Lalique master glass maker...
Lalique had experimented with glass in his jewellery making and
at 50 years of age he embarked on a new career as a glassmaker.
A career that would gain him the worldwide recognition that continues
today.
In 1907 lalique opened a shop near
the business of the famous perfumier 
Francois Coty.
He began creating classic glass perfume bottles for Coty and, eventually
he was asked to do the same for Worth, Forvil, D'Orsay, Guerlain,
Rogeret et Gallet. In all, Lalique created more than 250 different
perfume bottles.
Although most sell for modest prices, in 1990, a Lalique perfume
bottled fetched $80,000 at auction. A few years ago, a L'ldylle
flacon sold for $58,350 at the Philips Geneva flacon auction, and
a Japanese bidder paid $8,625 for a Lalique Bochon Fleurs de Pommiers
design at a William Doyle Galleries auction in New York.
Reneé Lalique sought to bring art into everyday life by
mass producing stemware, tableware, inkwells, clocks, chandeliers,
and vases.
At the height of glass production, his factories employed up to
600 people and created millions of pieces of glassware.
But despite his mechanised approach to production, the imagination
and beauty of his work is unparalled. He personalized much of his
work with frosting, polishing, and glazing to give it that handcrafted
and individual feel.
Rather than create a few pieces that could only be enjoyed by the
wealthy lalique mass produced his work in the hope that everyone
could enjoy it.
In the 1920's
lalique turned his hand to decorating the bonnets of cars and in
line with his love of the human and animal form, lalique created
29 car mascots in the shapes of fish, horse heads, frogs, dragonflys,
shooting stars and St. Christopher Carrying the Christ Child. Female
nudes were also a favorite design.
Lalique designed all the mascots to be illuminated from within
and a 6 or 12 volt bulb was connected to the cars wiring to provide
illumination. Filters were also used to change the color of the
light to red, blue, green, amber, or mauve.
Lalique mascots ornamented the hoods of the most stylish cars of
the day Bentley, Hispano Suiza, Isotta Fraschini, and Bugatti.
Today, lalique hood ornaments are highly sought after by collectors.
But nowhere in all his work in glass is Renee Lalique more renowned
than for his stunning vases. 
His true talent shines in the amber, plum, blue, opalescent, gray,
green, black, and yellow hues he obtained by meticulously adding
measured amounts of pigment to darkened glass.
Striking animal figures, mythical beasts, and geometric shapes
poured from his fertile mind.
The art deco style in laliques jewellery followed through to his
work in glass and, distinct geometric designs, smooth flowing lines,
and vibrant colors are all characteristic patterns and qualities
of lalique glass.
Today, museums around the world feature rene lalique glass.
 For
the new collector, the two most important considerations are authenticity
and condition ; chips, repairs, ground down edges, drill holes will
all reduce value. The condition can reduce the value in extreme
cases by up to 90%.
As for authenticity, there is very little worry about known Lalique
designs being faked. But there is a very big problem with modern
Czech glass bearing Lalique signatures. eBay sellers list czech
glass in large volumes as Lalique. You can also see less valuable
French glass of the 1920s with a Lalique signature."
Lalique used mass production techniques to make his work available
and affordable to people in most income brackets. Literally millions
of pieces have been created since the early 1900s, and Lalique factories
continue to produce fine glass and crystal today.
In the 1940s World War II forced
the closure of his factory.
He died in 1945 before it could be
re-opened. 
After his death, laliques son Marc
re-started the company and in 1948, he changed production from demi-crystal
to full lead crystal.
Lalique's granddaughter, Marie-Claude, later led the company and
implemented her own style with clear crystal accented with colored
motifs.
The
pre-WWII lalique pieces are the most highly sought after by collectors.
Lalique marked his work, even the mass-produced pieces R.
Lalique. However, the signature can be found in molded,
script, print, and curved designs.
In addition the leading L in the earlier
cursive Lalique signatures has a curleyque on top, making the letter
resemble an S.
Lalique used too many signatures in too many ways to allow for
a definitive guide as to what was made before or after 1945.
- The pieces created by Marc Lalique are signed Lalique
France
- The pieces created by Marie-Claude are signed Lalique
h France.
If you're looking to add to your Lalique glass collection, why
not have a look through our Lalique
Glass for sale section. |
