Lalique Jewellery .
The best collection of lalique jewellery outside of the Lalique company
Is almost certainly the collection of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
This collection includes both the collected pieces and those commissioned by
Calouste Gulbenkian himself.
The museum was given to the people of Portugal as thanks for the kindness they showed to Mr Gulbenkian

A Fascinating man,  Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was born in Istanbul and made a fortune through development of the Middle East Oil Industry.
Apart from his friendship with Lalique, he was also a close friend of the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt.

Pieces in the Collection that particularly caught my eye were :

A Valkyries Score Cover with a carved ivory Plaque in a frame of patinated silver with
stylised Poppies.This piece was exhibited in the Salon of he Society of French Artists
in 1894 and it really is exquisite.Purchased from the Artist in 1901

The Peacock Pectoral.
A stunning piece of jewellery in Gold Diamonds,Opal and enamel.
This is almost certainly one of the most magnificent pieces of Art Nouveau Jewellery
and it features a lovely peacock with deathers enamelled to show peacock colours and
cabochon opals.his Pectoral is a huge piece and really captures the very essence of the spirit of Art Nouveau.

The Female Face Pendant.
A widely known portrait of a very dreamy lady surmounted by large open poppies in the form of a hood.
The very dreamlike face in Moulded Glass is framed in patinated silver and supports a large Baroque Pearl.
There are definite signs of an inspiration from Renaissance jewellery  in this lovely pendant.

Other wonderful pieces in the Calouste Gulbenkiand Foundation incluse
A rather medieval looking Chalice,
A spray of Orchids forming into a diadem,
an incredibly intricate plaque for eagles and pine as a choker,
and a Landscape comb which definitely influenced several othe artists of the time (including Daum and Galle)
It also reflected Rene Laliqes interest in Photography.

To see these and other stunning pieces for yourself,
Please Visit

Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
Address:
Av. de Berna 45A
1067-001 Lisboa Codex
(LISBON PORTGAL)

Here is to be an Art Deco Exhibition in the temporary exhibition gallery
details :
ART DECO
PARIS, 1925
15th October 2009 to- 3rd January 2010
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation,
Temporary Exhibition Gallery

Tel: 21 7823000
Fax: 21 7823032
Website :

http://www.museu.gulbenkian.pt/museu.asp?lang=en

Oh - sorry - you just missed it !

There is a small selection of Lalique in the Museum D'Orsay but it is fairly small.