Lalique Nudes and Glassware
Lalique was working in an unusual era - the time of the Impressionists and the decadent time just before WW1.
It is no surprise that he designed beautiful but erotic works which are both erotic and sometimes decadent.
This is typified by his amazingly beautiful but very erotic dragonfly corsage ornament which features a semi-nude beauty with the lower half and wings of a Dragonly.
It was pieces like this that appealed to beauties of the day - women like Sarah Bernhardt and even members of European Royalty.
Rene had a beautiful range of erotic yet sometimes decadent pieces of jewelry for them - where the nude or semi-nude subject often had a dreamlike expression and looked as if they were awakening from an opium induced dream. The Poppy Maiden pendant is a typical example with opalescent enamel over glass and silver mountings this is a really mysterious piece of beauty.
Some themes run throughout Laliques work - draped or dancing nudes,mermaids and niads drift lazily across his lamps and vases but there is always a sumptuous and decadent feel to them.
Lalique perfume bottles are an ideal example with moulded nudes on the sides and sometimes even as stoppers.
A whole range of ladies accessories came out with similar themes.
Most of these were actually designed for ladies to use as ornaments and containers for the dressing table and ladies were the actual purchasers and recipients of these lavish gits.
Car Mascots featuring beautiful well upholstered nudes were very popular and are now highly collectible but the star of Laliques Erotic pieces is the Bacchantes Vase which features a frieze of moulded nude maidens in the very throes and invitations of passion.
Lalique Crystal Glass Nudes for sale are here :
(C)Keith Jones 2010