R Lalique Cire Perdue Wasp Vase by Rene Lalique

RLalique.com

The Address For:
The Worldwide Gathering Place Of Rene
Lalique Enthusiasts And R Lalique Collectors

Log in  | Register | Reality Check | Suspicious Thread | About Our Blog | Rules Of The Comment Road | Contact Us | Blog Home

Posts Tagged ‘R Lalique and Rene Lalique Estate Garage Sales’

A Great R Lalique Story AND The Tale of Lucky Carl

November 17th, 2008

Check out this BBC Report about the R Lalique Cire Perdue Vase that sold last week at Christies South Kensington. It was purchased for £1 at a “car boot” sale and brought to the Antiques Roadshow for appraisal and then to Christies to sell. Don’t you love stories like this?

£32,449 profit for car boot sale vase by Rene Lalique

Sign For An Estate SaleBUT, closer to the ancestral home of RLalique.com, consider the story of a Tucson Arizona man named Carl Rice. Carl frequented weekend garage and estate sales in the Tucson area. His biggest profit ever on the re-sale of one of his weekend finds, was the $55 he had made selling a $25 purchase for $80! On June 16th 1996, as was his habit, Carl perused the estate sales listings in his local paper, and then he headed off to an estate sale at the home of the recently deceased 94 year old Martha Nelson, where the representatives of her estate were clearing out her possessions. There in the Nelson home, Carl bought a pair of paintings off the wall for the asking price of $88. He then re-sold the pair at Christies New York in December of 1996 for over One Million Dollars! That’s right, over $1,000,000! Feeling LuckyA local Tucson gallery owner saw the Christies catalog noting the Nelson estate provenance, and mentioned it to the representatives for the dead lady’s estate. They of course mentioned the good fortune of Lucky Carl to their lawyers, and Lucky Carl quickly found out that just as night follows day, lawsuits follow lawyers. They sued Lucky Carl in January 1998, claiming that it was somehow his responsibility to let them know they had underpriced the paintings by $1,071,912! This ridiculous lawsuit dragged on for nearly three years until December 2000 before being tossed out by the Arizona Court of Appeals. Somehow we have the feeling that Lucky Carl, while a little less lucky, is a whole lot smarter for the experience.

The Planet MarsOne final note about the case of Lucky Carl. The gallery owner that saw the provenance in the Christies catalogue and ratted out Lucky Carl, was quoted in the Tucson Daily Star newspaper as follows: “If you are going through an estate sale, YOU have a responsibility to say you are aware this is such a valuable painting.” Sure, that’s why people go to boot sales, garage sales, estate sales and the like. So that they can appraise and authenticate items for the sellers, and help the sellers identify hidden treasures. And here we thought all the people in Tucson lived on the same planet as the rest of us. We stand corrected.

And the moral of the story: It can never hurt to consult with an expert before selling. If you need an appraisal on your R Lalique items, check out the Rene Lalique Appraisal page here at RLalique.com.

Lalique Sales are Strong as Christies South Ken Posts Solid Results – High Selling Cire Perdue Video Appraisal Included

November 12th, 2008

R Lalique Cire Perdue Feuilles FougeresChristies South Kensington’s Semi-Annual Sale of the works of the great Rene Lalique, posted a very respectable sale total of £318,450 including buyer’s premium. The sale had a catalogued 126 lots, but a couple were withdrawn and not offered. A total of 90 lots sold, for a respectable take up rate of 71%, which would be bit higher if the withdrawals were removed from consideration. High seller was of course the fresh to market R Lalique 1929 Cire Perdue Vase Feuilles Fougeres, CP551, which appears in the R Lalique Catalogue Raisonne only with information that it exists, and without even a drawing, let alone a picture. A photo of this vase has graced our home page for the better part of the past month. Measuring around 4.75 inches high (slightly smaller than a Rampillon Vase), this unique vase had a high relief design, and was in nearly original condition. The buyer was a London dealer in the room, thought by some observers to be acting on behalf of another dealer that wished to remain anonymous (intrigue). Big question – Who will step up to tell Christie’s “I saw it at RLalique.com”? These concerns aside, it sold for £32,450 including the buyer’s premium, against an estimate of £20,000 to £30,000.

Here is the video from the British Antiques Roadshow when they appraised the newly found Cire Perdue for the consignor:

For more info on the unique cire perdue creations of Rene Lalique, visit the Lalique Cire Perdue section of the Rene Lalique Bio.

Colored vases dominated the rest of the high selling list, comprising 5 of the 7 other lots to break £10,000. These included R Lalique Red Poissons, Blue Perruches, Blue Tuileries, Blue Milan, and an Green Languedoc Vases, in addition to an R Lalique Opal Bacchantes and a Boule De Gui Chandelier. A successful and solid sale with much bidding activity in the room from dealers and collectors, and phone bidders active on a very high percentage of lots.

 
 

Copyright 2014 by City Concession Co. of Arizona Inc. We are not affiliated with anyone using part or all of the name Rene Lalique. We are a gathering place for R. Lalique enthusiasts.