Judith Miller on Lalique

René Lalique’s glassware is quintessentially Art Deco, says Judith Miller.

René Lalique was born in 1860 in rural France but by the time he was two, his family moved to the suburbs of Paris. After the death of his father, 16-year-old René began an apprenticeship with Louis Aucoc, a leading Art Nouveau jeweller and goldsmith. Two years later, Lalique attended Sydenham Art College in London after which he returned to France; there, he initially started his career in jewellery and became a well-respected Art Nouveau designer/maker. Around 1906, Lalique transferred his skills into glassmaking, through a commission to create perfume bottles for fragrance company Coty. By 1918, success in that area led him to buy and move into larger premises where he designed quintessentially Art Decostyle vases, bowls, lamps and perfume bottles using the methods of pressing and moulding. Despite using these mass-production techniques, quality was high and Lalique’s glassware was expensive. René died in 1945, and from then, all marks on Lalique pieces comprised his surname only, without the ‘R’ initial; the company still produces many of his original designs today.

ABOVE (left-right): ‘Sauge’ vase; ‘Grenade’ vase; ‘Sirenes’ perfume atomiser

Over 300 designs were produced from 1920-1930, with motifs focusing on stylised natural forms, animals and nudes. These include Domremy, named after a medieval village in Lorraine, north-eastern France, which is moulded with thistles – the official flower of the region; Nymphale (beautiful girl or maiden); Sauge (sage); Poivre (pepper); and Sirenes (sirens). Colours vary from clear and opalescent to dark amber and deep topaz, with soft greens, blues and pinks in between.

ABOVE (left-right): ‘Poivre’ vase; ‘Perles’ perfume bottle; Nymphale’ vase

WORDS JUDITH MILLER PHOTOGRAPHS SWORDERS, RUPERT TOOVEY, DAVID RAGO AUCTIONS, TENNANTS, WOOLLEY & WALLIS
Featured in the January 2011 issue of Period Living

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