In the 1920s and 1930s car mascots became hugely popular. It was Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, who apparently first placed a figure of St Christopher, the patron saint of travellers, on his Daimler car at the end of the 19th Century and after that the concept gathered momentum. As a designer concerned with fashion it is not surprising that Rene Lalique embraced the challenge and created 29 different models of car mascot. The car provided a new level of personal freedom as well as a symbol of status and mascots added a further degree of glamour. Lalique’s mascots were based on the forms of birds, horses, dragonflies, figures, dogs, a frog, a fox, a fish, a boar, a ram, and even a shooting star. They are usually Art Deco in style and have an underlying theme related to speed which was one of the fascinations of this style.
Take a closer look at the fine examples of Lalique car mascots the featured in our inaugural Lalique auction...
Lyon & Turnbull’s Design Department is delighted to be introducing Lalique as a new biannual sale category in 2021. No other auction house offers specialist sales devoted entirely to the work of René Lalique. The first sale is scheduled to take place on 29 April in the Mall Galleries, London. Joy McCall will be heading these sales as she previously did at Christie’s, London for many years. She has over 25 years of experience selling Lalique and brings to the process her knowledge and expertise together with a personal passion for the subject.
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