Lalique Art Nouveau

Rene Lalique Early Years

When we think of Art Nouveau Jewellery or Art Nouveau Glass the first name that comes to mind
is Rene Lalique.

Although Lalique was primarily a Glass Designer he was equally known for his beautiful Jewels.

He is particularly renowned for his designs of Vases,Chandeliers,perfume bottles and jewellery.

From his birth Ay in Marne,France in 1860, he loved nature and in his early teens he began to paint
He love natural History and the flowing forms of nature
Later this love of nature became one of his trademarks because of his unique style..

Rene studied drawing and design at the Colege Turgot.

His mother realised how much he loved painting and design and apprenticed him to Louis Aucoc a major Jeweller in Paris.

He also studied at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in the evenings and subsequently studied at Sydenham College in London England at a very fortunate time.

During his holidays back in Ay he drew sketches of nature and wildlife and this influenced his work throughout his life.

England was the the very centre of the Arts and Crafts movement and he was inspired not only by the artisits of that movement but also by what he saw at the Crystal Palace Exhibition.

In 1880 he returned to Paris where he studied Jewellery manufacturing and then sculpture under Justin Lequien at the Ecole Bernard Palissy.

This time influenced his later work as much of Palissy Pottery was relief decorated and had realistically modelled fish,lizards,snakes and plants.

From this background of Art and Design, he evolved flowing and often erotic designs and the influence of Palissy is shown in his vases
such as the Sauterelles and Martin Pecheurs designs .

His most famous single work is probably the Perruches bowl from the 1920s which had a frieze of beautiful moulded parakeets on Opalescent Glass.

In later years he became famous not only for art nouveau Glass but also for Art Nouveau Jewellery.
He became the most famous jeweller in Paris and supplied the Crowned Heads of Europe withjewellery and trinkets in the Art Nouveau Style.
His friendship with the famous actresss Sarah Bernhardt introduced him to a huge range of highly fashionable clients including the Oil Mogul Nubar Gulbenkian who became Renes major Patron

1900 Paris Exposition Universelle

See Paris as Lalique himself saw it !

Lalique Retrospective exhibition Tokyo

Eric Knowles - Expert on Lalique

Eric Knowles Antiquarian
If you have a vision of an antiquarian as an old fellow pottering around with a long grey beard over a heap of books then you could not be more wrong !
Eric is a very pleasant man who obviously delights in handling and valuing antiques - especially Lalique and Rennie Mackintosh.

Antiques expert Eric Knowles has a wonderful fund of knowledge about Rene Lalique and his works.
He is of course a well known presenter on tv and regularly values antiques on the Antiques Roadshow and
is the resident Antiques Expert on This Morning.

Eric has a really funny stage show called Antique Antics and this includes a fun show with slides and a series
of enjoyable anecdotes about the antiques of the nation.
If this show visits near to you I really advise you to go to it for a fun and informative evening.

If you are unable to visit one of the Antique Antics show thenthere is a chance to meet Eric on one of his
Antiques Tours which he leads with Arena Travel (www.arenatravel.com)
These include tours to Prague,Vienna,Budapest, Berlin,Lisbon,Meissen and Dresden as well as UK visits to
Ironbridge,Coalport and Glasgow .

His Website is at :

http://www.ericknowles.co.uk

Glass Condition

condition is important on Lalique and other collectible glass.
Here are things to look for :

Quality of the moulding: is there good detail? As moulds get older detail gets weaker.
Original staining adds to value.
Enamelled items, is there damage? Damage to enamelled items can cost more to repair that the item is worth.
Damage to an enamelled piece makes it virtually worthless.

Colored lalique: is it the most desirable color?
Some Colours are much more desirable than others
You could get badly stung if you pay rare prices for a common piece.-

Check on ebay to see what the piece you are considering has sold for in the past.

Check for damage such as grinding down edge chips, polishing , chips, cracks or drill holes.
Check if the piece is complete, is there a base, lid or original stopper missing? If so you may have problems sourcing a replacement.
Has it been converted, for example a bowl to a sconce or hanging light? Collectors want pieces in original condition.

The following is a guide only, as there are many variations and exceptions as to how lalique glass
is marked.
Early pieces were engraved by hand - by the artisan himself so there are variations between pieces.

The greatest confusion for new collectors is how the R is used in the signature. Some people believe that the use of the R means the piece must be made before 1945 and if there is no R that is must be after 1945. This is not so.

Pieces that are signed R. Lalique can be from old moulds such as worth perfume bottles issued with the R until very recently and some early lalique may not have the R.
Remember that many FAKE Lalique pieces are still being produced in Czech Republic,Romania and Taiwan.
Some of these are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.
Fakes are usually only made of EXPENSIVE pieces - like the top vases. Fakes of Lalike minor pieces such as modern fish or glass rings are almost unknown.
If you are in any doubt then try to get a certificate of authenticity.
For pieces under $100 in value it is almost impossible to get a certificate of authenticity ...

Lalique Vases - Collecting Hints

Collecting Lalique Vases of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods

Surely the most prolific designer and manufacturer of Art Nouveau and Art Deco Vases and bowls during the first part of the twentieth century, Rene Lalique was one of several houses providing the world with beautiful art glass items along with the Baum brothers and Louis Comfort Tiffany in the 1920s and 30s. Lalique is the acknowledged driving force in high production glass art using both blow moulding and hot glass pressing techniques to create items that are not only beautiful but functional. As his production increased during the 1920s he designed and produced over 150 bowls and 200 vases of all sizes. These were in many finishes and in several colours in addition to clear and frosted.

The Lalique factory produced and shipped not thousands, but millions of glass objects during his lifetime, with all types of commercial applications.

Even though he produced stunning vases and bowls, figurines and boxes, he also produced a large amount of strictly practical and functional items endowed with his signature design genius.

Beautifully simple yet beautiful inkwells, paperweights, bottles, glass partitions, columns, huge pieces such as a glass fountain and a church altar piece were made with the same care and attention to quality of workmanship as his strictly art pieces.

The vases are a subject all to themselves, and the process that Lalique used to make them also made the unique in the time period. He used birds, dragonflies, floral designs, animals of many types, nudes, and geometric designs on almost all of his works and the stylization could be very simple or quite involved.

Pieces ranged from tiny to quite large, and there are hundreds of museums throughout the world that maintain collections of Lalique . They regularly come up at auctions, and despite the hunger for Lalique amongst collectors of the world most are still in individual ownership. This reality makes it a rewarding hunt when attending estate sales and flea markets. Generally, the early pre 1945 vases are signed R. Lalique , and can be either acid etched, moulded in relief, or set into the piece. Script and block lettering were both used. If you are trying to determine if your piece has an authentic signature, the use of a respected collectors guide is highly recommended.

Colour is also critically important. Pricing will range from small to medium clear and frosted glass items to more expensive when more intricate and colored or tinted glass pieces. Lalique comes in red, blue, amber, green, and rarely in black.

Some pieces recently that were clear as originals have been irradiated to turn them a deep purple, but this is not an original finish and experts treat them as fakes. Later Lalique from 1945 through 1977 were produced by Renes son Marc, and while different in many ways than his fathers work, the influence is obvious at once.

Also beautiful and collectable, the markings will be Lalique France. It is gaining value and may be more affordable in many cases than the older pre 1945 pieces.

You can find a massive amount of information on Lalique Vases and other items both online and in your library. It is a treat to the eyes to visit a museum or gallery that has a collection of Lalique on display, and an experience that has set many a collector on the hunt for their own Lalique pieces.

Lalique catalogs of all the original pieces are also available in reprint in bookstores and on line for as little as $30 to well over $200 for coffee table versions. They are priceless assistants when looking for target items, and a valuable resource when trying to identify the piece you have just found.
Remember to always take a pocket guide with you when hunting for Lalique.

Collecting Lalique Glass

Start Collecting Lalique Glass

It is easy to begin collecting Lalique glass, as it has been in constant production since the late 19th century and is still available today. Thousands of pieces and hundreds of designs and objects are available, from small perfume bottles and inexpensive items like bookmarks costing a hundred dollars (or less if you are lucky) to one of a kind lost wax castings from before Rene Lalique expanded to blown glass moulds and pressed glass techniques running in the six figure price range.
Very popular art glass subjects to collect include antique glass,antique glass perfume bottles and art deco glass vases.
Most of these are readily available at reasonable prices.
Glass chandeliers are harder to find but the best place to look is in antique markets in Paris and rural France (where they are usually less costly).
Lalique Cristal is more expensive but of high quality.
Earlier vases tend to be higher in value and lalique art deco vase examples are genuinely more modestly priced.
One of the best places to look is in the Lille (Northern France) antiques market in Early September where you will have an astonishing choice of 14 kilometers of antiques in the city streets to choose from.
Beware though - there are MANY reproductions and outright fakes there as dealers bring goods from all over Europe to sell.

Lalique is both art glass and commercial glass. Thousands of Lalique pieces are perfume bottles as Lalique made the majority of them for many years in France.

You will find Lalique in many places. You can buy new Lalique glass manufactured by Renes granddaughter at many fine department stores and online sites.

As always, when trying to authenticate a piece to add to your growing collection, it is necessary to also own and use a respected collectors guide complete with detailed pictures of marks and variations.

As anyone who watches Antiques Roadshow knows, you do not just go to antique stores and Ebay to find them, but try estate sales and flea markets, garage sales and church rummage sales.

As with something as common as Lalique glass, many current owners of pieces have no idea what they have. Keep up to date with collector groups and other like minded folks so you will know when there are fakes being circulated; often the grapevine in such a setting can save a neophyte collector from getting taken advantage of by unscrupulous dealers.

Above all, enjoy the journey. Many happy hours can be spent in pursuit of that next great find.

As with many types of glass and art deco items, color and finish determine value as much as style and size. A large piece of later frosted Lalique probably will not bring as much as, for example, an early small black floral vase.

Knowing what you are looking at is critical, and the best bet is to see as many pieces and know their value as possible before you set out to corner the market in Lalique.

Know what the most valuable colours are. You will find Laliques in ten or more colors as well as clear and frosted finish. The majority of pieces are lead glass or crystal, and will be heavier than plain glass. Realize what Lalique commonly used for decorative schemes, as he often used fish, birds, flowers, nymphs, and dragonflies.

Watch the sharpness of the cuts and angles, as the first pieces out of the mould were very much sharper in detail and angle than the last ones to be produced, and are subsequently worth more. Watch for the signature not looking quite right, as fakes are out there with pieces this collectable and valuable.

You can tell that it is being produced currently as the mark used by Marie-Claude is Lalique h France. Her father, Renes son Marc, produced pieces until his death in 1977, which were heavily influenced by Renes works. The markings for Marc LeLique will show as Lalique France. Original Rene Lalique will normally be marked as R Lalique. Markings are generally acid etched, but some are raised and molded into the piece. They can be script or block and be legitimate.

Research Lalique. There is an incredible treasure trove of information, pictures, collections in museums, and online material to be discovered by the collector. Once you have your collection in progress, enjoy it. Display it proudly in your home or office, and do not forget to insure it. Most Lalique collections grow in value nicely, and more so if you are an avid collector. Do not be the collector who spends years of loving devotion towards collecting a good number of quality pieces to lose them to theft or disaster without even being able to begin the journey again with the insurance companys funding. Good Luck!

This is where you will find the BEST SOURCES of Lalique Antiques
(Its where the Dealers go shopping !
Antique Arcades

Lalique Cire Perdue

Rene Lalique and The Lost Wax

(No it is not an Indiana Jones Saga)

The Early Lalique pieces were produced with the Lost Wax Method.
This consists of carving a sculpture or other intricate piece in wax. A Mould is made around the wax
using Plaster of Paris. This is left to set and then heated.
The Molten wax is poured out and molten Glass is poured into the mould.
The glass cooled down and the mould was removed carefully.
This was the main method of production until 1905.

It is these very early pieces that are most collectible (and valuable) since very few pieces are identical.

However, the Lost Wax (Cire Perdue in French ) method is time consumng and not really suitable
for mass production of glass.
Accordingly, Lalique opened a production line at Combs-la-Ville in 1909.

At this time the Lalique Factory was producing a wide variety of objects including the well known Perfume Bottles,
Vases,Decorative Boxes and Book-Ends.

By 1930 Rene Lalique was famed as the premier designer in Glass and was making Vases with nudes or dancers,
Dragonflies, fishes and leaves. Nature subjects were very popular and his Crystal bowls and Vases with acid-etched reliefs sold well.

Lalique Art Nouveau Chandeliers

Lalique Chandeliers

Lalique produced many chandeliers - here are some you may find in your searches.

This is by no means an exhaustive list but has most of the lalique chandeliers that you may come across.
Prices vary wildly.Errors and ommissions excepted. There are reproductions around of Lalique Chandeliers.
I saw many reproductions for sale in the September market in Lille France.
Here you will find examples of both art nouveau and art decom chandeliers and lamps.
Condition is everything and it may be possible to replace parts of an art nouveau chandelier but remember that this will seriously devalue the piece if this is done with a modern copy !

Alger - 7 Winged Chandelier Clear with applied lalique birds and leaves

Atlantique - has 4 Glass Support with clear discs supporting a glass opal box with
Geometrical cubes below - Art Deco

Bandes de Roses - Frosted Pink Glass circular bowl with 4 hoops in pink

Boule de Guy - Froste Orb with applied Mistletoe

Charmes - Circular with leaves in relief

Chrysanthemes - Clear circular glass with a stunning swirl of opal chrysanthemems
and leaves swirling from centre of bowl

Coquilles - Clear glass bowl with opalescent Cockle Shells all round

Coquelicots- 4 support hold octagonal glass box with scallops

Dahlias - Colander shape with large frosted glass dahlias between leaves
in lcear of pink lighty frosted glass

Deux Sirenes - two nude mermaids cavort below a frosted hemisphere -stunning piece.
In clear or Amber Glass (unmistakeable lalique )

Douze Figures - frosted sections of glass with raised nymphs on each section

Eglantines - White frosted bowl with stunning mouldings of sweet briar roses

Etoiles -STUNNING clear Disc with undreds of Gold Stars all over it and dome in centre

Fougeres - Modernistic looking frosted glass with Wings of glass

Gaillon - Frosted bowl with pendant frosted cups

Grande Fleur - Pink opaque bowl with huge single flower and central seeds

Hirondelles - Frosted bowl with panel contasining swallows projecting from the sides

Feuilles de Charmes - Frosted bowl with leaf pattern perles - Lookes like an upside down cake stand .
Radiates to Pearl -like glass beads on both top and bottom parts.
Frosted with clear rim
Lausanne - Frosted Bowl with fruit/birds and leaves

Lierre - Frosted glass opalescent bowl with reliefs of ivy.

Madagascar - (my favourite lalique chandelier) a stunning opaque pale umber dome with a frieze
of beautiful monkey heads all around

Madrid - 4 wings of clear glass with leaf patterns on each

Monnaie du Pape - clear bowl with pattern of leaves.

Moineaux - 4 support of clear glass rings above a square box with frieze of birds and leaves.

Nanking - Geometrical frosted bowl made of interconnecting triangles each with more triangles within itself.

Noisetier - Pendant Dome with frosted glass base and leafy wings above.

Palmes - single support with glass discs holds 4 attached boxes with palm leaf pattern on outside of each

Papillons - Drum Shaped with frieze of butterflies with radiating bowl beneath.

Papillons Plaques - Clear glass bowl in sections with moulded opaque butterflies

Passiflore -Glass opaque ball with passiflora flowers (passion flowers) protruding stamen from each flower.

Ravenne - Art Deco frosted glass looks like a square crinoline with bands.
Pendant border of glass marble like beads and a miniature copy of itself below.

Rinceaux - Art Deco style curves overlaping each other all over the dome. Clear or Gold

Ronces - white or pink frosted bowl with appliqued brambles

Soleil - Blue of clear bowl with geometric pattern and clear domes all over it.

Stockholm 1 - Art Deco Pale yellow bowl with horizontal pyramidic leaves and support of clear glass rings.

Stockholm II - similar to Stockholm I but with geometrical pattern below

Vendome - Elegant saucer-like chandelier with bamboo like support above.

Ville Neuve - Golden Bowl with 4 swags of white opal glass al round. Beautiful.

Veronne -Yellow Opal Glass with leaves and petals like water lily all overlapping

Remember - if a lalique chandelier looks new and comes in a sealed box it is probably a reproduction.

Art Nouveau lamps and art nouveau chandeliers are usually more valuable than art deco chandeliers.
As with all art nouveau glass it is IMPORTANT to check for repairs on any piece you are considerin purchasing
A Lalique Chandelier should be considered as a work of art and cleaed only with a gentle bath of soap and water.
NEVER use spray-on kitchen or bathroom cleaners as these may damage the chandelier.

Fleur de Lis Two Light Wall Sconce in Walnut

US $74.13

5d 14h 35m

Sothebys 6 91 Dec Arts Macdonald Rohlfs Ruhlmann

1 Bid

US $4.99

1d 5h 9m

ART DECO ASTERS No2 DISH BY R LALIQUE C1935

US $500.00

1d 18h 21m

COLLECTION KENZO rare catalogue antiquités asiatiques

2 Bids

US $27.84

2d 23h 56m

Lalique France Double Dove Collectors Bottle

0 Bid

US $9.99

4d 4h 32m

LALIQUE RARE ELEPHANT STUNNING MINT CONDITION

US $1,048.95

14d 1h 15m

Lalique Bargain

In Scotland a Lady visited a Car Boot Sale and came away with the best bargain of the year.
She spent £1 and took home a 5 inch high Lalique Feuilles Fougeres Vase from 1929.
I think she will be visiting the Dumfries car boot ssale again.
The vase sold for £32,450 at Christies Auction.

laliqueartnouveau.com

Categories

Search this site

Blogroll

Recent Posts