above: glass plate
with fishes & bubbles
by Rene Lalique.
above: "Lys" bowl
by Rene Lalique.
Lalique Glass from the Glass Encyclopedia
Rene Lalique (1860-1945) was a French "art nouveau" jeweler and sculptor who became interested in glass in his 30's and rented his first glassworks at the age of 49 (in 1909) near Fontainbleu in France. Over the next thirty years he became the world's leading art glass designer of the art deco period.
In the 1920's and 30's his work inspired glass-makers around the world, and it has probably been copied more than any other glass designer. His contemporaries in France who produced glass which they advertised as "au style Lalique" included Sabino, Etling, D'Avesn, Genet & Michon, and others. Overseas some of the finest hand-pressed glass made during the 1930's used patterns based blatently on Lalique's designs. Two of the best examples were the Phoenix Art Glass Company's "Sculptured Art Glass", from Pennsylvania and James A Jobling's "Opalique" from England.
Lalique opened his first retail salon in Paris in 1905 selling jewelry and decorative pieces, next door to the Coty perfume premises. Coty comissioned perfume bottles from his friend Lalique, and these commissions soon grew into a thriving glass business for Lalique.
At the Paris Exposition des Art Decoratifs et Industriels (source of the name Art Deco) in 1925 Lalque won several medals and had a whole marquee displaying his glass in the "new style".
Lalique glass is a collector's dream. It is ALWAYS marked in or on the glass. There is no such thing as "unmarked Lalique". Also, the glass made during Lalique's lifetime can be easily distinguished from later Lalique because it is marked "R. Lalique" as opposed to the post 1945 mark "Lalique". Some early "cire perdue" pieces were marked with Lalique's thumbprint in the glass.
Rene Lalique's opalescent glass was very popular and commercially successful. It has a very subtle blue colour when light is shining onto the piece, but takes on a beautiful "honey" colour when light shines through it (hold it up to the light). See our page on opalescent glass.
You can still buy new Lalique glass made to many of the original designs, using very high quality crystal glass, both in clear and a limited range of translucent colours. It is expensive but you can find it on display in high class glass departments and stores world-wide. When buying glass marked "Lalique", remember that you may be able to buy the same piece new, and check out the prices. Further down this page you will find a list of some prices obtained at auction for Lalique glass.
Most of Lalique's output was uncoloured clear glass, his next most popular colouring being opalescent, and a smaller number of pieces were coloured glass. He produced statues, vases, friezes, perfume bottles, car hood ornaments, lighting panels, and tabel glassward.
Lalique made some stunning glass pieces using the "lost wax" technique, where the original design is made by carving it out of wax. This carved model was used to make a mold (usually in something similar to plaster of Paris) and then the wax was melted out ot the moled (hence lost wax) and hot glass pured in. Normally these molds were destroyed in order to remove the glass, so a "lost wax" piece (in French "cire perdue") is usually unique. Sometimes however, Lalique used the lost wax technique to produce a more permanent reusable mold, because of the fine detail that could be carved into the wax. So not every Lalique "cire perdue" item is unique.
Most of the Lalique glass we see was made from the more conventional methods of carving the design into a metal mold and using that mold to make numerous identical pieces. Lalique had improved the technology for making pressed glass (using a "stamping press") to enable him to produce designs with deep and intricate indentations. Some of his vases have patterns about an inch deep. A range of hand-finishing techniques were applied to these pressed glass pieces, including polishing part of the design, applying colour washes, and sand blasting. A display of glass by Rene Lalique can be truly breathtaking!
If you are looking for glass made by Lalique, you can usually find items on offer on ebay
- click here to see the Lalique glass listings currently for sale on ebay.
The items below are for sale right now on eBay - we thought you would like to see these examples.
The Lalique company still makes art glass, and has also branched out into a range of fashion accessories and perfume recently (in the late 1990's).
Here are some more books on Lalique glass that you may find helpful. Click on any book cover on this page to read more about a particular book, including price and any available discounts for buying on-line.
Looking for a book? You can search the whole amazon.com site from here:
If you have never tried an on-line auction,
explore ebay, - still the best!
Type what you are searching for in this box:
OR
FIND GLASS on ebay! Take a quick look at your kind of glass in Angela's Designer Searches - save time and don't miss an opportunity even when you are busy! - CLICK HERE
INFORMATION about Bagley Glass!
At last a book on Bagley Glass. The first edition of this book sold out very quickly.
The 2nd Edition is now available and has received a rave response - more information, more and better pictures, new items identified as Bagley for the first time, a helpful index, and more compehensive coverage; - so much so that there is no need for a supporting CD, which brings the price lower!
A truly comprehensive guide to help you identify Bagley Glass.
Click on picture for more details.
2nd Edition US$33.90 plus pp.
INFORMATION about New Zealand Glass !
Including many original catalog pictures and dozens of photographs.
NOW available - this is the first paperback edition of the book
and it covers many contemporary New Zealand glass artists as well as
the history of glass in New Zealand, Crown Crystal Glass and New Zealand bottles.
Price US$29.90 plus pp.
Tiara Glass Collectors' INFORMATION
Click on the picture for more details.
This CD includes original catalogs and advertising leaflets.
There are now at least seven full catalogs, five leaflets, and the 1995 Tiara Product Information Manual.
You may often find a bargain on half.com.
Click on this logo to try.
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