Lalique Glass is easily identified for the most part by the style, Art Nouveau and Art Deco, and the use of degrees of frosting of clear glass to make the decorative motif visible. Starting his career as a jeweler and jewelry designer, Rene Lalique (1860-1945) began to experiment with glass to make the central figure in his jewelry. Frosting the glass makes it more visible as well as giving it a softer look, more suitable for jewelry. Larger pieces followed, and Lalique became a famous name for glass decorative items and interior design elements.
Lalique, pendentif © by lartnouveauenfrance
Lalique worked with French perfume and cosmetic houses, designing beautiful packaging for their products. With the original bottles so beautifully designed and made, it was not necessary to transfer the contents into something else to keep the beauty of Madame’s dressing table intact. These bottles are now highly collectible, like all Lalique glass. Lalique also designed and made a large number of household decorative items, like vases, candle holders, ash trays, boxes, ceiling lights, statuettes and even stemware.
Vase Lalique © by waltercolor
Mr. Lalique was commissioned to decorate the main salon and dining room of the SS Normandie in the 1920′s. Pieces of this decoration come on the market from time to time as it was all salvaged at the time the ship was stripped for use as a troop transport in World War II. For those who can travel to England or France, there is St. Matthew’s church in the town of Millbrook on the Channel island of Jersey which was furnished by Lalique. It would certainly be worth the time and effort to get there to see this beautiful and complete example of Mr. Lalique’s mastery of glass.
Lalique © by ingridtaylar
The key to collecting older Lalique glass is learning to recognize the quality of the glass and knowing the legitimate marks for each time period. Reproductions are in circulation, so study the catalogs and books of the Lalique production before purchasing any, to avoid disappointment. Unless you have deep pockets, you will probably have to settle on collecting one area of the historic Lalique output, like automobile mascots or perfume bottles, as these items are in demand and are not cheap.
If you are not able to spend a lot of money on your glass collections, consider buying one of the new pieces of Lalique glass. The company continues to produce fine glass figurines and other items at the factory in Wingen-sur-Moder in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, and these new items can make a beutiful addition to any glass collection.
See examples of Lalique glass.
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