Attracting bidders from across the globe, Nature Inspired: A Private Collection of Lalique exceeded its top estimate at £557,000*, achieving an impressive 94% sold.
Our February single-owner collection auction was led by Lalique's cire perdue works with the Quatre Motifs Gerbe Épis vase achieving £72,701* and Quatre Tetes de Bouc, Guirlandes et Graines vase selling for £30,201*. Rare, the majority of cire perdue objects were one-offs, with no other versions conceived. Appealing to a connoisseur market, these special works proved popular in our first Lalique auction of the new year.
Cire perdue works are characterised by an absence of mould lines and are unpolished. The glass therefore appears more opaque, or frosted, and matt. The surface is slightly irregular and textured with some pitting and cooling lines. The works are distinctive because they retain more detail and often feature fingerprints that provide a sense of intimacy with the maker, which can be seen on the leaves of the Quatre Motifs Gerbe Épis vase (illustrated above).
The sale also starred examples of the only two vases with patinated bronze handles that René Lalique designed - the Cluny vase that sold for £62,076*, and the Senlis vase at £25,200*.
Unlike Lalique's usual style, where decoration would be incorporated into the surface of his works, here the detail is concentrated on the bronze handles alone.
L’Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriel Modernes in Paris in 1925, gave rise to the coining of the term Art Deco as a style. Lalique was a key designer for the Exhibition, and it is not surprising that Cluny vase was designed that very year is stylistically completely in keeping.
Also in the Art Deco style were a range of pieces designed by René Lalique and Alice Ledru's daughter, Suzanne Lalique. Like her father, Suzanne was inspired by nature. In 1926 René Lalique & Cie became a company that incorporated Suzanne, her brother Marc, and Suzanne’s husband Paul Haviland.
The group of works featured in this collection are credited by Felix Marcilhac in his catalogue raisonné of René Lalique’s work, as either having been based on a design by Suzanne or inspired by her. The section was led by the Gros Scarabees vase which proved popular with bidders, seeing £17,640*.
Stylistically Suzanne designs were Art Deco, employing geometric shapes and simplified forms, and drawing on the art of other cultures, such as the Montargis vase which reached £15,120*.
Technically Suzanne was responsible for the introduction of black enamel to designs. The pigment was applied with a brush and then the object fired to anneal it. The use of enamel highlighted the designs as can be seen in the Tourbillons vase that saw £13,860*.
Further highlights included the Figurines coffret that sold for £16,380* and a jewel-toned Aras vase that reached £18,900*.
We look forward to welcoming you back with our specialist Lalique auction taking place at the Mall Galleries in April 2024.
*All sold prices include buyer's premium.
