Jan Afford Limited
formerly Afford Decorative Arts

A BRIEF HISTORY. Rene Jules Lalique was borne in Ay in the Marne region in France in 1860. He died in 1945 leaving to us what is now recognized as a major legacy of art nouveau and art deco design. He chose to use glass and semi precious metals and stones as the media with which to communicate as an artist and designer. His comprehensive range of works in jewellery, glass and glass sculpture (in the form of cire perdue vessels and figurines) are widely recognized and rightly praised for their highly innovative and groundbreaking qualities. Many pieces of his work, ranging from the high quality industrially produced tableware, to very rare and unique commissioned pieces survive to this day. They are highly prized by collectors and museums for their great beauty and highly imaginative designs, which draw principally on the naturalistic influences of classical art nouveau or the modernist stylised influences of the art deco period. Production under the direction of Rene Lalique spanned the latter part of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.

In 1876 at the age of 16, he became an apprentice jeweller to Louis Aucoc, and also produced works for Boucheron, Cartier and other prestigious design houses. After a very short time it became abundantly clear that he had an extraordinary talent and his own ideas. In 1878 he was accepted for study at the renowned Syndenham Art College, a driving force in the Arts and Crafts movement. For almost twenty years, he focused his work on the design and manufacture of some of the most spectacular examples of art nouveau jewellery ever produced. His clientele included many of the rich and famous at the time such as Sarah Bernardt. Many of these exquisite pieces were only produced as special commissions. Today these are amongst the most highly sought and expensive examples of his work. It was in 1897 that his work became internationally lauded with the award of the “Croix de la legion d’Honneur” for jewellery shown at the world fair in Brussels. Other prestigious honours followed and by 1900, Rene Lalique had turned his full attention to design a wide range of objects in glass, where his achievements were, if anything more spectacular.

He adapted the ancient chinese “cire perdue” or “lost wax” technique for casting bronze objects, to produce a range of vases and other sculputural objects in glass. Of these there are thought to be around 600 unique pieces documented on paper – the number surviving is thought to be no more that a few hundred at best, and these survive mainly in major private collections and museums around the world. By 1900 one of his wealthiest patrons and close friend was the american industrialist Calouste Gulbenkian, who undoubtedly encouraged other wealthy purveyors of fine art to aquire pieces of his work. Gulbenkian even established a museum in honour of his work which survives to this day and houses one of the finest collections of Lalique objects in the world. By 1908 Lalique had become friends with Francois Coty of Parisian perfume fame, and designed his first perfume bottle. He subsequently went on to produce a superb and extensive range of scent bottles for many of the major manufacturers of the day. The opportunity came to scale up and expand his activities in 1918 when Lalique opened the factory at Wingen Sur Moden which was taken over by granddaughter Marie – Claude after his death and which survives to this day. This development enabled Lalique to achieve one of his primary goals, which was to bring the best in art and design into the lives of the wider public rather than restrict it to the patronage of the wealthy few. History shows that he achieved this goal very effectively, without compromising the high quality and innovative nature of his designs………In short he took fine design to the masses, constantly pushing the boundaries of technology.

Whilst production of glassware and jewellery steadily underwent commercial transition, Rene Lalique never stopped working on developing and experimenting with design in glass right up until the second world war. The period from 1920 until 1939 bestowed unprecedented success and fame through glass production mainly of art deco influence. Rene Lalique also produced some spectacular architectural pieces including monumental fountains for the great expos, glass paneling for trains and famous ocean liners, and a whole range of fixtures and fittings of architectural significance in some of the most famous period buildings around the world at the time. At the outbreak of world war two, production ground to a virtual halt and remained that way until cessation of hostilities in Europe in 1945.


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RENE LALIQUE TODAY AND HOW TO COLLECT FOR PLEASURE AND INVESTMENT.

The work of Rene Lalique is more appreciated than ever today. It probably ranks amongst one of the most universally collected art forms across all cultures. His range of work is extremely diverse extending to the collector many options. It is possible to focus on a particular genre of objects or to aquire representative pieces across a broad range of items. Most collections centre around the vases, perfume bottles, boxes, mascots, clocks, paperweights, pintrays, tableware, and the more accessible glass jewellery. It is possible with patience and enthusiasm even with a very modest budget of a few hundred pounds per item to collect pre-war tableware in the form of glasses, plates and bowls or some of the lesser perfume bottles. Upwards of £1000 extends the possiblities of aquiring some of the cheaper clear frosted or opalescent vases. Many good quality items from all genres can be bought in the £2000 - £5000 range including some of the much rarer colored vases. From there be prepared to pay anything up to substantial six figure sums for the very finest and rarest investment pieces including the major jewellery, major vases, major perfume bottles and cire perdue items.

My advice to the beginner is to go slowly, seek the best possible expertise, and see as much as you can – there is no substitute for experience in this collecting field. As always condition is critical and along with rarity it is the major factor in determining price. Damage, restoration and severe manufacturing flaws can even make some pieces close to worthless.
The best pieces are truly exquisite and are avidly sought by collectors around the world. The marketplace especially for the most expensive and rarest pieces remains very resilient. Everyone likes a bargain, but always be prepared to pay a fair market price to secure a really good piece in fine condition. Be wary of pieces which seem too cheap. Fakes and forgeries do exist as do cleverly altered pieces – with experience and trustworthy advice these are easily dealt with.

If investment forms an important part of your collecting criteria, buy the best you can afford. Again, the best source is likely be from a knowledgeable and reputable specialist dealer, who has the confidence to hold their own inventory and therefore a suitable vested interest in the items that they are selling. One single item can often prove to be a better investment than ten cheaper pieces. Over the medium term – five years or longer, pre-war Rene Lalique has appreciated on average better than property and certainly better than many other forms of art, stocks, shares and bank deposits. Because of it’s very broad appeal and the robust market demand for quality pieces, it is an easily redeemable asset, from which you will derive immeasurable satisfaction from owning.

The preceding article appears online by invitation of the lifestyle website for medical professionals – www.em-online.com 2009