R Lalique Cire Perdue Wasp Vase by Rene Lalique

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Posts Tagged ‘R Lalique – Rene Lalique Authentication’

Normandie Loose-Copy Not R. Lalique Clock At Auction June 24th!

Diogenes Would Be Smiling!

May 8th, 2023

We can’t start without saying that we have never seen a scintilla* of evidence linking René Lalique to the commissioned Normandie Clock or to this later loose-copy of that clock. The clocks are great art deco objects! But evidence free claims do not make them R. Lalique! No such claims are being made for the clock discussed below.

Diogenes Statue in his birthplace Sinop Turkey

The 5th/4th Century BC cynic and philosopher Diogenes spent much of his time pushing back against what he saw as the base and corrupt Greek society in which he lived. He harassed and criticized Plato, dogged the Greek philosopher Antisthenes, and mocked Alexander The Great to his face! Diogenes would walk the streets during the day carrying a lamp, and when asked what he was doing replied “I’m looking for an honest man.” **

We don’t know if he ever found an honest man, but we have! And his name is Romain Merien.

On June 24, 2023 in Orleans France at the Pousse-Cornet – Valoir Auction House, a later loose-copy of the original Normandie Clock is coming up for sale as Lot 115. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a description for this clock at auction that is even close to accurate, but the dry spell will end in Orleans on June 24th!

Here is the lot description in French followed by the Google translator English Version:

Maison ATO
Rare pendulette en verre opalescent moulé à décor en léger relief sur le cadran figurant le paquebot Normandie.
Elle repose sur une base pyramidale simulant des vagues
Marquée a revers ATO – Made in France
H: 15 cm Un micro éclat dans la partie supérieure
Modèle proche de la pendulette offerte lors du voyage inaugural du Normandie en 1935

ATO House
Rare molded opalescent glass clock with light relief decoration on the dial depicting the Normandy liner.
It rests on a pyramidal base simulating waves
Marked on the reverse ATO – Made in France
H: 15cm A micro chip in the upper part
Model close to the clock offered during the maiden voyage of Normandy in 1935

If you’re looking for one of these clocks, we recommend you consider this one. Why not support the honest offerers as opposed to those making baseless, undocumented, ridiculous, and flat out false claims.

For extensive discussion and information on our site about this clock see the Normandie Later Loose-Copy Clock Page.

Normandie Later Loose-Copy Clock Not René Lalique

NOTE: Following is the link to the original Lot 115 Clock listing on drouot.com.

You can contact Romain at +33 02 38 54 00 00 / orleans@poussecornet.com and the web site is Pousse-Cornet.

* Scintilla is a tiny trace.

** There is some debate about the translation typically used in English whether or not it’s just “man” or “honest man”, but the “honest man” version we are using literally creates the theme for our article so of course we went with it! At World Headquarters we call it Literary License!

*** Diogenes Statue Image Credit Michael F. Schönitzer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pierre Leblache – Hardweejun On Ebay – Buyer Beware

April 4th, 2014

Pierre Leblache is an Ebay seller doing business under the screen name Hardweejun. But here at World Headquarters he’s known as Johnny Shoe Trees! **

He’s had a questionable listing or two over the years, and we thought it’s about time to bring one to your attention.

Lucien LeLong Parfum B Perfume Bottle 1926

The message from the title is easy enough to understand. Obviously a Rene Lalique bottle :).

Ebay has pretty strict guidelines about spamming listing titles for a variety of good reasons. These reasons can be summarized (by us) as follows: Titles are for saying what you are selling! They are not for saying what you aren’t selling. Here, JST starts right out: Rene Lalique! Wonder why?

Obviously we know of no evidence that the bottle shown in the ad and pictured here was made by Rene Lalique.

In the “take from this what you will” department, it’s interesting how the description for this particular ad is in French! When we viewed the seller’s other items at the time of writing this, all 8 of his other ads were in English. But no matter, as the title proclaims “Rene Lalique”, who cares if you can’t read or understand French ****. And such a bargain for under $100. Hardly seems worth the effort typing up all that French language gobbledegook *****.

We once wrote this New York seller to ask him to backup a long-winded and involved claim in an ad essentially stating that a particular perfume bottle was authentic per Lalique company documents. He replied that all those documents were at his French country house! Surprise! That was some time ago. Obviously we never got to see any documents.

As always, we are happy to be corrected if we have our facts wrong. So if anyone has any authoritative evidence close-at-hand showing the bottle in this article is a Rene Lalique Perfume Bottle, please let us know. In the meantime, be careful out there.

UPDATE: April 16th, 2014

Another ridiculous listing has appeared from Hardweejun, this time Item No. 371043589156 titled “Rene Lalique 1937: Original “Tzigane” Bottle for Corday. VG Cond. No Label.

The bottle has no R. Lalique signature. This is excused in the description with the crazy comment as follows: “Lalique did not sign the bottles he made for parfumeurs (except occasionally for his best friends and clients such as Coty or Worth) and he usually only signed the bottles sold empty in his store.”

This nutty claim is of course contrary to the facts.

The Tzigane Perfume Bottle for Corday was introduced in 1938. It had the words Tzigane and Cordy Paris molded into the glass on the side of the bottle, and the molded signature R. Lalique on the underside. Conveniently, we have a photograph of the underside of an R. Lalique Tzigane Perfume Bottle which is shown below in the right hand photo with a molded R. Lalique signature. We put the photo of the underside of the Hardweejun bottle on the left, right next to the R. Lalique molded signature Tzigane photo on the right so you can see for yourself if there is any kind of difference that might be of interest.

Tzigane Perfume Bottle For Corday With No R. Lalique Signature On The Underside Offered by HardweejunTzigane Perfume Bottle For Corday Molded R. Lalique Signature On The Underside

A couple closing points about this. We always say don’t buy signatures, because there are so many fake signatures out there. But for this model, there are Tzigane bottles that are very close to Lalique’s original design, that were not made by Rene Lalique. And here, you wouldn’t be buying the signature, you would be buying no signature. That brings us to our second point. For most collectors, it’s best to avoid the convoluted explanation of why there is no signature on a piece that someone is trying to sell you. Instead, stick with pieces that stand on their own, but are backed up by an authentic signature. You want the piece to authenticate the signature, and not the other way around. Here you have a convoluted explanation for why there is no signature. Why would a typical collector get down in this mud trying to figure this all out, when there are obvious authentic R. Lalique Tzigane bottles for sale all the time that don’t require some crazy (or any) explanation?

And our final thought: When you go to sell your new no signature purchase however many years down the road, will you be prepared to tell that same story to your prospective purchaser?

Once again, be careful out there.

End of April 16th, 2014 Update

Start Update April 7th, 2018

Really?

All of the text that follows in this update is the verbatim listing language without changes except bolding the text for a couple of the most amusing sentences.

Ebay Item 372263747980 Rene-Lalique-1920-Opalescent-Glass-Statuette-034-Naiade-034-5-2-034-Signed-VG

Naiade Statuette Being Sold By Hardweejun Claiming The Base Was Made As ShownContrary to what is often written even in respected publications, René Lalique’s 1920 “Naïade” (Water Nymph) figurine never was a car mascot. Lalique called it a “statuette” and it did not have the standard base fittable over a car radiator. The Marcilhac book is quite explicit, sorting the mascots and the statuettes some 100 pages apart.

“Naïade” represents a nymph listening to a sea shell. The opalescent mermaid-like body is suggested with fish scales on the lower part of the statuette, but the top is most definitely human and feminine, with exquisitely displayed hair, arms, breasts and especially bosom (photos 4,5,6). In the whole Lalique production, “Naïade” is the most revealing and Rubens-like. While the base seems narrow, it is perfectly balanced, an intact original and not a reduction, one of three different bases with which the statuette came. This explains why the signature, R LALIQUE in raised letters, is placed mid-body (photo 7, to the right of the scales) and not on the base. It is photographed larger in photos 10 and 11.

“Naïade” is repertoried and photographed in the large book by Felix Marcilhac, the unofficial “Lalique Bible”, on page 399 of the 2011 French printing in the “Statuettes” section (not “Bouchons de Radiateur”), under reference 832 (photo 12). The caption specifies that the figurine was produced until WW2, never made again afterwards.

The condition is very good. with no chip, ding or any structural damage. There is one defect, though, from origin: a bubble inside the glass. It is visible when looked at straight (photo 3, lower part right), it otherwise appears as a spot in the glass (photos 2,4,5). There is no other damage.

End of April 7th, 2018 Update.

**This seller once had a pair of used loafers for sale on Ebay for something like $800. And in the photos showing the old shoes, they had shoe trees in them. BUT, when you read the fine print in the ad, even though shown in the photo, the shoe trees were not included! That’s right, for $800 no shoe trees! Apparently the expression really is: Keep your friends close and your shoe trees closer! And there you have it: JST!

*** TBE = Tres Bon Etat (very good condition). TPR = Tres Pas R.Lalique!

**** Here is a link to an article with the notorious video of President Obama making fun of the poor French language skills of Americans.

***** Gobbledegook is something that’s hard to understand. Think mumbo jumbo, or the expression “It’s all Greek to me!”, that descends from a line in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.

In What R. Lalique World Will Any Of This End Well?

April 1st, 2014

In the mailbox yesterday:

Rene Lalique Meduse Vase in Green Glass” …… It is possible that both the opalescent Bacchantes and Green Medusa Vases currently being offered on eBay may not exist. I think they are being offered by the same party. I have sent four emails asking about condition on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and requesting additional photos as of now I have received no response. These same prices were up for sale several months ago and I know they sold. My email address is ……”

Read-in to that email what you like, it’s probably all there.

Rene Lalique Ronces Vase in Blue GlassLet’s talk about the warning signs for a suspected stolen photo online offer:

1. Zero feedback seller.

2. Recently registered seller.

3. High value items, and known to be such, starting out at a low price, no reserve, and FREE shipping.

4. Totally different photo background in each of three listings from the same seller.

5. Seller will not provide specific, or recent, or any photos. Ask for something very specific if you are going to waste your time: a photo that is unlikely to be available to a seller that does not have possession of the item (send me a photo of the piece next to a soda can or other specific household item, or with a pencil laid across the top rim). For high value items, what seller ignores you and fails to provide a requested photo?

6. You find the same item and photo background in a previous sold auction listing at RLalique.com and the current seller is not the previous seller, nor is the current seller the previous buyer. **

Of course, for confirmation you can see if you get the great reply to a buy-it-now offer: “Wire me the money so I can save the Ebay and credit card fees and I’ll accept!”

Rene Lalique Bacchantes Vase in Opalescent GlassDoing some reading-in to all of the above, we recall fondly the great W.C. Fields 1939 movie: You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man.

For additional information on this topic see our previous article about suspected stolen photo auction listings.

And a reminder that while we don’t catch everything, if an online auction appears problematic, you might find it in the Suspicious Auctions listings! We usually have 100 to 200 current listings there at all times!

Of course opinions vary, and if anyone doesn’t find these 3 listings suspicious and wants to throw caution to the wind (how many times are you going to ask for photos? :), we want to be the first to congratulate you and wish you good luck with your new bargain purchases!

** Check out the Meduse Vase model page in the Rene Lalique Catalogue here at RLalique.com. Courtesy of the Oracle, the original Ebay listing link from July 2013 for the green Meduse Vase has been restored so you can check out the original auction and the photos. Funny how history repeats; the old sold item has a title incorrectly calling it Medusa, just like the new suspicious one! Hmmmm.

R.Lalique Creation – Creation R. Lalique – Creation Lalique: Signatures That Say “Not R. Lalique”

March 30th, 2014

R.Lalique CREATION Signature That Is Modern Post-War on Dans La Nuit Perfume Bottle For Worth

Glass items that have an R. Lalique signature along with the word CREATION are often a source of confusion for owners and potential buyers. However, there is no authentic R. Lalique pre-war item made during the lifetime of Rene Lalique that has the word CREATION as part of the signature.

Dans La Nuit Perfume Bottle For Worth With R.Lalique CREATION Signature That Is Modern Post-WarBut these CREATION items account for a regular supply of listings on the Suspicious Auctions page here at RLalique.com because they are often falsely represented as period works of Rene Lalique.

The R. Lalique CREATION signature at the top of this article is typically found on the blue Worth round flask shaped bottles as shown in the second photo.

The only real difference in this example signature and similar ones found on other flask style blue Worth bottles would be the volume of the bottle in ml as shown for different size bottles.

Before we get too far into this, we want to remind everyone that we assume that most owners of these items offering them up as R. Lalique period pieces actually believe that they have a genuine R. Lalique pre-war item.

Dans La Nuit Stars Perfume Bottle For Worth With CREATION R.Lalique Signature That Is Modern Post-WarBut whether it’s duplicity, ignorance, or wishful thinking on the part of a seller is irrelevant to a potential buyer.

As a buyer, you want to be educated enough to either have the facts or to know where to get them. To be savvy enough to rely on your own analysis and research and not on what a seller might or might not say.

In short, it’s best to spend time checking out the facts and the piece, and not fretting over what the seller might or might not know.

Dans La Nuit Stars Perfume Bottle For Worth With CREATION R.Lalique Signature That Is Modern Post-WarAll the perfume bottles pictured in this article contain the CREATION signature. All are post war modern bottles, and none are authentic R. Lalique pre-war bottles notwithstanding the molded signatures.

And as an item of interest but not relevant to authenticity as R. Lalique, some or all of these bottles were not even made by the modern Lalique company.

The third photo above is the signature on a mid-1980’s modern reproduction of the ball shaped Dans La Nuit Stars Perfume Bottle for Worth shown in the fourth picture.

We’ve also included the modern Molinard de Molinard Perfume Bottle with the CREATION LALIQUE signature as shown in the two photos below.

CREATION Lalique Signature That Is Modern Post-War On A Molinard De Molinard Perfume BottleThere are some third party reference materials out there that say (directly or by inference) that this model Molinard bottle is a reproduction of an original Rene Lalique design (see Lalique Perfume Bottles by the UTTS Page 85 and the 2004 Catalogue Raisonne Red 3rd Edition Page 945, both saying this is a 1929 R. Lalique design for a Molinard Bottle named Iles D’Or, but all references to this bottle are omitted from the most recent 2011 Green Edition of the Cat Res). So we figured to show it just make sure there is no confusion.

Molinard De Molinard Perfume Bottle With A CREATION Lalique Signature That Is Modern Post-War Of course, if you just remember the general rule that the CREATION mark on the underside means modern, then you won’t be confused.

Obviously it would have been better if like the collectible auto business here in the U.S. they had used the phrase “recreation” (or with the hyphen “re-creation”) as the meaning would then be hard to miss.

All these modern signatures (and quite a few others) are documented and discussed in the signatures section here at RLalique.com, on the page for post-war modern crystal Lalique signatures.

Fake R.Lalique: Identifying The Sources Of Forgeries Or Items Represented As Lalique That Are Not By Rene Lalique

May 15th, 2012

Czech Five Nudes Vase Often Seen With Forged R.Lalique Signature Or Just Sold As The Work Of Rene LaliqueIdentify Fake Lalique is a new sub-section of our information packed Lalique Fakes section here at THE Worldwide Gathering Place for R.Lalique Collectors and Enthusiasts.

Through this new sub-section, we’ve made available three different kinds of information on the sources of items that turn up with forged R.Lalique signatures and items just misrepresented as R.Lalique. We estimate that the items accessible from this new sub-section account for as many as 75% of all such items that appear.

First, we have put relevant old catalogues of Czech glass online, and linked to other sites having such catalogues. These catalogues document the source of a great percentage of later forged pieces. Keep in mind that the pieces shown thru the Identify Sources pages were not created with the intent to fool anyone. It is only the later addition of a fake Rene Lalique signature of some kind, or the false representation that the item is the original work of Rene Lalique that makes the piece a fake as far as R.Lalique collectors are concerned. But many of these items have value and are collectible in their own right, and again, were not produced with the intent to deceive anyone.

Goblet Form Vase Which Is Not An Authentic R.Lalique VaseSecond, we’ve linked to websites that currently sell new pieces that sometimes end up with forged signatures and sold as R.Lalique.

Third, we’ve linked to one general information website (with hopefully more to come) which is helpful in identifying Fake R. Lalique.

We’ve also created an outline on our Authenticating Lalique page, which directs interested owners of possible problem pieces or potential purchasers of any R.Lalique piece, through a four-step process utilizing the resources available here at RLalique.com. The process steps through the resources on Lalique Forgeries, the Modern Lalique Crystal Signatures page, the new Identify Fake R. Lalique sub-section, and finally to the documented R.Lalique Copies that are known to exist.

Czech Underwater Motif Vase Which Is Not An Authentic Rene Lalique Glass ItemWe also placed online and accessible from the navigation bar on every page of the main RLalique.com website (all pages except the Blog) a new section on Lalique Signatures! The signature section is broken down into three sub-sections: Authentic Rene Lalique Signatures, Fake R.Lalique Signatures, and the previously mentioned Lalique Crystal Signatures. Actual signatures from actual pieces are shown on all three of these sub-sections. It’s worth keeping in mind that signatures do not authentic pieces as many signatures are easily faked. However, armed with knowledge you can differentiate between modern Lalique Crystal and authentic Rene Lalique signatures. And of course, some signatures are so far off the reservation that being able to spot those saves a lot of time (and possibly money and headaches) as well. Previously the reference literature had but a handful of mainly line drawn signatures for collectors to examine. Now there are hundreds of real examples taken from real pieces. And for the Rene Lalique Signatures and the Cristal Lalique Signatures sub-sections, if you put your cursor over any photo in those two sub-sections, a text window will appear telling you what piece the signature was found on.

Czech Floral Decorated Vase Which Is Not Authentic Rene LaliqueIn the future, time permitting as always :), we’ll add over 1000 more photos to the Forgeries section of items that have appeared falsely represented as R. Lalique. And we’ll be breaking the Forgeries section down into more categories to make it faster to look just for the type of piece you have instead of having to scroll thru photos that may show items unrelated to the specific type of item you are researching.

As the value of the great authentic R.Lalique glass and other items continues to appreciate, more and more vigilance is needed to become educated and watchful for the increasing number of fakes entering, or attempting to enter the market. Our Suspicious Lalique Auctions page continues to grow with more and more listings on a continuous basis as fakes and questionable pieces come up for auction in greater numbers. The good news is that this problem is minor for R.Lalique when compared to many collecting fields, some of which have been greatly damaged by the intrusion of fakes and forgeries. But only through information, education, and vigilance by the entire collecting community, can the fakes and forgeries be kept at bay**. This is an effort that benefits everyone involved with the works of Rene Lalique.

Opalescent Glass Starfish Coaster Which Is Not Authentic Rene LaliqueIn that regard we are actively soliciting additional sources of information for the new Identify Fakes section; for help in finding and exposing current fakes at auction; in getting information on any other R.Lalique copies that appear; or about ongoing scams as they develop. Also for example, if you have a photo of an R.Lalique signature that we do not show, or of a Cristal Lalique signature we are missing, we would gladly accept help in that area as well. If not for the generous contributions of time and information from many R.Lalique collectors, the information on fakes that we have organized and highlighted here would be just a fraction of its current volume. We have accomplished a lot, but more work remains, and we can use all the help we can get.

Czech Glass Toothpick Holder or Cigarette Holder Which Is Not Authentic Rene LaliqueAnd finally related to this topic, we have a major sub-section where we are assembling photos of known Lalique Crystal Reproductions by the modern Lalique Company of original Rene Lalique designs. This information lets collectors know on which R.Lalique pieces they need to be even more vigilant to ensure they don’t have a modern crystal piece with an altered signature. This sub-section is nearly complete for reproduced vases, but far from complete in other types of items, and we would welcome photos from anyone having pictures of modern crystal reproductions not yet shown on that page.

We are quite hopeful that these latest steps to augment and organize the vast information on Fakes here at RLalique.com will make it easier and faster for potential buyers to get the added information they may need to make better informed decisions about a potential purchase, or for owners to get information about the true nature of a piece they possess.

Oh ya, none of the items pictured in this article are authentic R. Lalique glass.

** “keeping at bay” is an idiomatic expression which means to keep something or someone away from you that might be harmful or unpleasant.

LR – RL Signature: Louis Rault – Art Nouveau Medalist, Designer, Chaser & Rene Lalique Contemporary

April 6th, 2012

RL-LR Signature Of Louis Rault Often Confused For A Rene Lalique MarkOn almost any day of the year, somewhere in the world there is a medal, button, pendant, cufflink, locket, hatpin, or similar object for sale with the mark you see in the first photo here, represented to be the work of Rene Lalique. The hard evidence is the signed “RL” signature. And the soft evidence is the style of the piece, and the likely period of its creation.

But the hard evidence is wrong. The signature is not RL, it’s LR and it’s the mark of Louis Armand Rault, a Frenchman who lived from 1847 to 1903. Rault was a sculpture, a chaser, a jeweler and a medalist. Born the son of a shoemaker in St. Calais in the Pays-de-la-Loire region of northwestern France, by the age of 21 he was working for Boucheron in Paris. The great Henri Vever believed that Rault might have been the most talented chaser of all time! Rault created many unique and attractive objects, a number of which are in major museums.

RL-LR Signature On Female With Crown Medallion Cuff LinkBut his most often seen works are in a handful of designs that were apparently licensed for use by many different manufacturers. So for example, one of his females in profile designs, may appear in a gilt metal stickpin stamped out in France, or on Sheffield Silver buttons made in England, or on a pendant with the addition of gems around the neck of the female. In addition to sometimes being enhanced with various gems and stones, Rault’s medals also appear inside intricate surrounds or incorporated into other objects such as ashtrays.

RL-LR Signature On Pendant With Louis XIVThe objects with these designs all have two things in common. They all sport the LR mark shown here. And they all often appear advertised as the work of Rene Lalique. This is true for direct sales ads, online auctions, and at auction houses.

In the very active Fake Lalique section at THE R. Lalique Worldwide Gathering Place, we receive a steady steam of reports from buyers, sellers, and interested parties about the never ending offers of Rault signed LR works improperly attributed as being signed RL for Rene Lalique.

Keep in mind that a false attribution does not always mean purposeful malice by the seller. With that supposed RL mark, a seller may think it’s truly R.Lalique, or maybe it’s just their best guess or wishful thinking. Or maybe the did some research and found the same design attributed to Rene Lalique by other sellers.

RL-LR Signature On Medallion With Helmeted FemaleWhatever the seller’s motive or knowledge or lack thereof, the only thing that should concern you as a buyer is to be armed with enough information to dodge these kind of bullets. What the seller knows or doesn’t know is of little import.

We decided that the best way to minimize the continued occurrences of these false claims was to create a Louis Rault reference page that can be easily found by owners and potential buyers of these Rault items who are looking for information and photos to identify these signed LR pieces. And so has been born the LR-RL Signature-Mark confusion page. Check it out.

R Lalique Signatures: Authentic Rene Lalique Signatures – Samples of Lalique’s Marks

July 6th, 2011

RLalique Signature on Fleur Aster BoxRene Lalique pieces show many different authentic R. Lalique signatures and we get regular inquiries asking where R. Lalique owners or collectors can go to see samples of actual R. Lalique signatures. In response, we’ve developed a page where readers can review the different signatures found on genuine pieces of R. Lalique. This new page showing how R. Lalique pieces were signed can coincidentally be found at this link: R.Lalique Signatures.

We also thought this would be a good time to answer some questions that come up quite regularly about the signatures found on R Lalique. This is not intended as a comprehensive discussion, but merely to answer common questions about Lalique’s signatures on his R. Lalique glass and other items. Jumping right in:

Apparent Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Vase Unsigned1. Is every piece of R. Lalique signed?

In the big picture of Rene Lalique’s works that were produced, by the percentages it is fair to say that the overwhelming majority of R. Lalique was signed in one form or another. However, Lalique produced a lot of pieces, so just a miniscule unsigned percentage can mean that many pieces were not signed with an R. Lalique mark. It appears that architectural items, especially parts of larger installations can be unsigned with some regularity (considering how irregularly these types of pieces appear that is :). And an apparently authentic (and original) piece appears without a signature from time to time. However, it would be a mistake in our opinion for the average collector to think they had found the pot of gold at the end of the Rene Lalique rainbow each time or any time an unsigned something or other popped up represented as R. Lalique, on one of the slim chances mentioned (or not mentioned) above. So we typically advise collectors to proceed in life as if everything was signed and should be signed. Basically, nearly every single piece percentage wise was signed, so why mess around. And when you go to sell, it’s usually much better to have a signed piece of R. Lalique than an academic explanation of why the unsigned piece is authentic. Note: The apparent cire perdue vase shown here appeared at auction advertised as unsigned and sold for over $100,000. We didn’t have the vase in-hand, so we don’t know one way or the other if it was in fact an unlikely unsigned R. Lalique Cire Perdue vase. However, it appears that at least two bidders were satisfied on the subject.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Does every authentic signature contain the phrase “R Lalique”?
 
Rene Lalique VDA Signature on a Pissenlit PlateRene Lalique VDA Signature witout FRANCE on an R. Lalique Graines D'ASperges Coupe PlateNo, not all signatures or marks contain the phrase “R. Lalique”. Some exceptions would be jewelry with metal backing is many times stamped LALIQUE in the metal, and may or may not be signed on the glass.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rene Lalique Masque Signature on a R. Lalique Gui BoxThere are 2 different VDA molded marks, one with FRANCE molded under it and one without FRANCE. VDA stands for Verrerie D’Alsace which is French for Alsatian Glassware. There’s also the Masque mark shown here. These 3 marks do not say R. Lalique. There are also some pieces signed just Lalique in the glass, either inscribed or in the mold. And there are a small number of items with just R L in the mold. Those are mainly (but not always) perfume bottles with small bases. So while most of what appears is signed R Lalique in one form or another, many pieces are signed differently.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Is each example of the same R. Lalique model signed the same way, or can the same models have different signatures?

Many models can be found with different signatures that were used over time. It seems that the more popular a piece, or the longer it was in production, the more different signatures are seen.

Rene Lalique Made In France Signature on Palmes Vase

4. Is it true that no R. Lalique piece has “Made In France” signed on it?

No, there are a few pieces that have the phrase “Made In France”. For example, some Palmes Vases have a molded R. Lalique and Made In France on the underside as shown here. Another example is one of the Figurines Atomizers with a similar molded signature. Also some Tzigane Perfume Bottles for Corday are molded BOTTLE MADE IN FRANCE R. LALIQUE.

5. Do any R.Lalique pieces have more than one signature or mark?

Yes, a good number of pieces (but again, small percentage wise in terms of overall production) have more than one signature. Three examples:

Rene Lalique Added Lalique Script Signature on Courges VaseA. We sometimes see pieces with molded signatures that are perfectly readable, with a full R. Lalique France engraved or etched signature present as well. On the R. Lalique Signatures Page linked in the first paragraph above, we currently have a couple examples of double signatures at the end of the page, and more may be added over time.

B. The molded signature is faint or unreadable, so an inscribed signature is added. This is pretty typical on the Escargot Vase for example, where the molded signature is often quite faint, and a script Lalique is added. Shown here is a Courges Vase with the added script Lalique, as well as multiple signatures relevant to the following paragraph.

C. Whatever instrument or technique was used to impress an intaglio signature skipped (or who knows what), and more than one signature was impressed in the piece. We have seen up to six identifiable signatures on one piece. Shown following is a somewhat typical Courges Vase signature, a model that is often seen with multiple signatures.

6. When a piece is signed in script: R Lalique France #888, what does the number stand for?

This is the Rene Lalique et Cie model number to identify the model of the piece, which in this case is a Sauterelles Vase.

Rene Lalique Multiple Signatures on Courges Vase7. Do all pieces contain the word France in the signature?

No. Early produced pieces do not contain the word France. Our understanding is that no later than with the Tariff Act of 1930, the United States required the country of origin to be marked on imported goods. The USA being the biggest import market in the world on an overall basis at that time (and it still is the largest by far to this day (2019) if you were wondering), stuff all over the world that might be exported started getting the country of origin marked on it at the time of manufacture. This would naturally include Lalique’s great pieces.

8. Are any pieces signed “Rene Lalique”?

Well, never say never. But we are joining the Missouri crowd on this one….. show me.

9. Where were R. Lalique pieces signed?

In France of course!

Seriously, Lalique’s signature appears in many different places on his R. Lalique pieces. They can be signed on the bottom half of the side of a vase for example, anywhere on the underside of the base of nearly any piece, right in the design somewhere, or on the edge of something such as the edge of a box cover or on the side edge of the upper part of a disk shaped seal.

10. Were any pieces made after the death of Rene Lalique signed with an R. Lalique signature?

After World War II, small numbers of pieces were made from old molds that incorporated a molded R. Lalique signature before these molds were updated. However, most of these pieces were also given a modern Lalique France signature to indicate they were post war production. Notable among models that fall into this category are the Coq Nain Car Mascot, the Perche Car Mascot, the Sanglier Car Mascot, the Tete D’Aigle Car Mascot, the Saint-Christophe Car Mascot (all marketed only as paperweights post-war), the Quatre Perruches Frame (also used pre-war only for the Inseparables Clock), and Marienthal Plates. The Meudon Box has been seen several times with the molded R. Lalique signature on the side of the top, but the bottom is engraved Lalique France indicating it was produced after the war. And we have seen the Worth “Stars” Dans La Nuit Perfume Bottle with the molded R. LALIQUE signature but then with an engraved Lalique France as well. Keep in mind that the added post-war signature on any of these examples could later be polished off by an unscrupulous person, leaving only the molded R. Lalique signature. In addition to the above, there are also the molded R. Lalique CREATION signatures on some perfume bottles where the word CREATION tells you it’s post-war.

Further Discussion, Summary, And Resources

If readers that check out the page of Lalique’s signatures have photos of signatures or variations we are missing on that page, please email those in using the link and directions on the signature page. And if you have a question omitted here, or additional information you feel is important to this discussion, please email us using that same link.

VDA FRANCE Signature On A Vases Coupe-Plate With A Later R. Lalique Forgery Scratched InIf you are looking for examples of faked, forged, and copied R. Lalique signatures, see them on our site at this link: Faked, Forged, and Copied R Lalique Signatures! You’ll find that many of those faked signatures are quite good

In that regard, we wrap up this article with our constant admonition: Signatures do not authenticate pieces, it’s the other way around. Pieces authenticate signatures. Make a decision about the piece first, and then see if the signature fits. Just because a signature looks right, does not mean it is right. And signatures in most cases are far easier to fake than authentic pieces.

To put an emphasis on this point, once or twice a year we see authentic pieces with forged signatures! Usually it’s clearly an attempt to “boost” the signature from what the person thinks is a modern signature to a pre-war signature when no such boost is necessary. For example, a great early vase that was originally signed just Lalique on the lower part of the side in script, and someone adds the R. in front not realizing they have a great and rare thing that does not require further enhancement. And then there’s the example shown here, where someone not knowing that the great molded VDA (without FRANCE) or VDA FRANCE signatures are authentic R. Lalique marks, decides to improve things a bit with an R. Lalique addition. And there is also the occasional piece that for whatever reason (never signed originally, minor polishing or major repair or wear and tear removed the original signature, etc.) that has just a forged signature and none other.

So enjoy your collecting, but do it with your eyes open!

Lalique Bacchantes Vase: Post-War Opalescent Cristal Lalique Bacchantes Vase At Roadshow

May 2nd, 2010

Bacchantes Opalescent Lalique Cristal VaseThe modern Lalique Company has reproduced the Rene Lalique Bacchantes Vase in crystal basically continuously since production of Lalique crystal began after the end of World War II. These crystal reproductions have continued to bring this iconic Rene Lalique design into the homes of tens of thousands of people worldwide even to this day.

The Bacchantes Vase has been reproduced most commonly in clear and frosted crystal, but also yellow amber and gray colored crystal as well.

Unfortunately, some of these modern crystal vases have appeared with altered signatures and sometimes added patinas to be passed off as original R Lalique Bacchantes Vases. By far the most common vase seen in this altered state has been the clear and frosted version. And this has created problems for unsuspecting collectors of the works of the great Rene Lalique.

But little known is the fact that the Bacchantes was also reproduced after the death of Rene Lalique in opalescent crystal, appearing with the signature LALIQUE CRISTAL FRANCE! Pictured here is just such a vase and two photos of the signature. One of these crystal opalescent versions appeared at the U.S. Antiques Roadshow in August 2003 in Oklahoma City that aired in March of 2004, and we thought bringing this to your attention would be a good opportunity to talk about the existence of these crystal reproductions and give a little information and advice about what to look out for.

A modern opalescent Bacchantes Vase has also appeared with a typical script Lalique France signature, and bearing all the other signs of post-war production as discussed below.

Bacchantes Opalescent Lalique Crystal Vase Signature

The hallmark of the post-war crystal reproduction Bacchantes is that the bottom of the vase is flat and does not have the concave (indented) center section to the underside of the base that is found on original Rene Lalique Bacchantes. This is the key point to look out for. R. Lalique collectors should avoid any flat bottom Bacchantes Vase no matter what the signature says.

Bacchantes Opalescent Lalique Cristal Vase Signature

But the next point: It is possible to alter a flat bottom vase and polish out a concave center section to the underside of the base. It’s a lot of work and will involve some expense and some risk, but the stakes are high, with the original R Lalique vases being worth much more than the post-war crystal reproductions. At the time this article was originally written it said: “We have not seen such a vase, but technically it is possible and just something to keep in mind.” However, we have seen several such vases in the years since this article originally appeared. We have seen modern colored Bacchantes that were altered by experienced glass workers from the Alsace region of France, including making the bottoms concave and adding forged pre-war signatures. The perpetrators were apparently caught but not until after some number of forged Bacchantes had made their way to the market. Those expertly altered and forged vases are almost certainly still out there in various collections and will appear in the future.

And the fact that experienced glass workers knew to alter the bottoms to make them concave to be convincing as pre-war? That kind of proves our point.

Bacchantes Opalescent Rene Lalique Authentic Glass Vase Concave Underside and SignatureOnce you are past the flat bottom (see photo on left for an authentic Rene Lalique Glass Bacchantes Vase concave underside), all the regular general rules of evaluation apply. Three sample criteria to keep in mind are:

1. Crystal is heavier than glass, and it feels different. Your best defense is to have handled thousands of pieces of R Lalique so you might know just by handling if you have an original glass version, or a later crystal reproduction.

2. An equally good defense, especially with the amounts of money involved, is to hire an independent reputable Rene Lalique Expert Consultant to evaluate or locate potential purchases. Getting independent advice from a reputable source flows nicely to our third sample criteria:

3. Deal with an honest and competent seller!!! Dealing with an honest and competent seller is not the end of all potential problems, but if you have a choice, an honest and competent seller is the way to go. Not starting out every purchase having to think about how the seller is trying to get one over on you* does provide some assurance and makes the collecting experience a lot more enjoyable. Of course when buying online or making one-off purchases thru similar methods, you may not know much about the seller and we highly recommend in any event getting as educated as you can and spending your time focusing on the item you plan to purchase.

But if you know your seller or dealer makes a living selling R Lalique, then you definitely want to be dealing with someone that is both honest and competent. And when you combine dealing with an honest and competent seller with getting independent expert advice from a reputable consultant, you have drastically reduced the chance to have regrets and you are much more likely to obtain high quality examples at fair prices and build a great collection in a much more pleasant way.

And if you want to know more about Lalique Crystal, the crystal items made after the death of Rene Lalique, a good starting point is the Lalique Crystal section of the Rene Lalique Biography at RLalique.com. There you’ll find links to all the information on RLalique.com about Lalique Crystal, and also a link to the website of the modern crystal maker Lalique S.A.

*to get one over on you – to try and slip something by you, to dupe, trick, fool, or deceive you. On the other side of the pond there are similar expressions with similar meanings in use in different parts of the country – “get over on you”, “to have you off”, or “to have you on” are three examples.

**strong suit – something at which one excels

Fake R Lalique: The Fake Lalique Sauterelles “Grasshopper” Vase – The Quintessential Close Call

April 25th, 2010

Sauterelles Fake Rene Lalique purple VaseFake Lalique is something that all collectors have to be on the lookout for. It’s something that is a problem to varying degrees in every collecting field. In the big scope of things, it’s much less of an issue with R Lalique than in many other areas of collecting, but it still is an issue to be on guard against.

Here is an Ebay listing that in a nutshell* is one of the most prevalent items passed off as the work of Rene Lalique. The stereotypical fake Sauterelles embodies not just ease of identifying fakes for a collector, but also the truth in the concept that “a little knowledge can be dangerous”**.

First, a link to the cached version of the Ebay listing: Ebay Item 140401627596. You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.. Fake as fake can be. This supposed Lalique Sauterelles Vase has all the elements. The too tall rim, the too thick rim, the crude finish, the bizarre color. And it has the added oomph of this claim “It was purchased at a Christies auction along with many other signed Lalique pieces.”

Likely, if you had this vase in hand, and you had handled thousands of pieces of R Lalique glass, you would know just from the feel when you picked it up that it’s a complete fake***. This is an easy one to spot no doubt.

Sauterelles Fake Rene Lalique Amber VaseBut consider the danger of knowing about this piece and thinking you know-it-all about the fake Lalique Sauterelles. Because just when you think, “Oh, I can spot that coming a mile away!” the makers may adapt their tactics and go to plans B and C. So like everything else in life, when you learn about something, you have to think about not just what you do know, but what you don’t yet know.

Plan B: Take a vase like the blue/purple Ebay one, pick a more believable color, and then polish up (well, really down) the rim, and get it in a closer and less crude shape to authentic examples. With a better color and a better rim, “first glance” and “mile away” may not put you on alert! See the photo of the Amber Sauterelles Vase above.

Plan C: Start over, use a better, closer to reality glass and finish, and adjust your mold and finish to produce from the get-go**** a better looking product that more closely matches the authentic pieces in color, size, rim, and glass composition. See the photo of the Blue Sauterelles Vase below. Now, many collectors might not know the difference even after inspection if they had not handled sufficient amounts of Lalique glass, or did not take caution in examining the vase. Compare the Blue and Amber Sauterelles photos to the blue/purple one from the Ebay listing and see the improvement in technique between models.

Sauterelles Fake Rene Lalique Blue VaseWhile it is thought that these cruder and usually older fake Sauterelles Vases come from South America, the Plan C vases that we have seen have come from Europe! And of course, Plan B vases can come from anywhere from New York City to Buenos Aires.

So for the Ebay vase, what is one of the easiest copies to spot is also a lesson in what to think about once you have gained some knowledge. Not to bask in the glory of what you know, but to give some thought to what you don’t yet know!

As always, keep in mind that the knowledge or motive of the seller of one of these Fake Lalique items is almost totally irrelevant to you. Your concern is the piece and not the person. Don’t waste your time wondering too much about the seller. Spend your time wondering about the vase. This listing presents a great example of that. Here, the seller makes the Christies provenance representation. Even if they don’t have a receipt to prove it, even if Christies never sold a vase like this, the seller may have been told this by the person or place that they got the vase from. They might just be passing along what they believe to be true. Either way, who cares? The only issue for you as a collector is the authenticity of the vase and not the authenticity of the claims of the seller.

Also, many of these vases were not made with the intent to fool anyone. Someone may have copied the design because they liked it, not to sell it as something it is not. In the Ebay listing, the manufacturer of the vase did not sign it RLalique or whatever. It’s unsigned. So at least at that initial stage, there may have been no intent to deceive, just to copy! And today’s seller may believe everything written in the ad on Ebay. But again, your only concern is the piece in front of you, the here and now, and what you know to be the facts.

You’ll find links to all the information about Rene Lalique Fakes everywhere on RLalique.com in the Fake Lalique Section of the Rene Lalique Biography, including links to the Copies and Close Calls Section of the website where additional photos and information about Lalique Copies can be found including specific information on Fake Sauterelles Vases.

And if you need expert advice in your purchase decisions, take a look at the services offered at RLalique.com in the Lalique Expert Consulting Section of the website. Independent expert advice can and should pay huge dividends when making your purchase decisions. For typically a small percentage of what you are spending, it can prove invaluable in helping you buy with confidence and avoid regrets.

* “In a nutshell” is an old expression used by Shakespeare in the early 1600’s (“….O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell ……..” declares Hamlet) and by Pliny 1500 years before that (when he relates Cicero’s statement that the whole Iliad was written on a piece of parchment which might be put into a nutshell). It means a small space, or something small such as a concise explanation.

**”A little knowledge can be dangerous” – First used by Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) in An Essay on Criticism, 1709: “A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again.”

*** A “complete fake”? This begs the question: What is the difference between a complete fake and a regular fake? The answer: You’ll know it when you see it.

**** Get-go or getgo is American expression, kind of a vernacular contraction without the apostrophe. It really just shortens up the phrase “get going” or the phrase “get ready, get set, go!”. It means the start or the beginning and is usually used with in the form “from the get-go”.

Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Vase at Auction: A Carefully Crafted Impression In A Non-Lalique Story

December 21st, 2009

Hi. I have a bridge to sell you. It’s a wonderful bridge clearly marked “Golden Gate”. It’s in excellent condition. I inherited it from my uncle who loved bridges and had a bridge collection. My uncle told me it’s a valuable and important bridge, and I have great respect for my uncle. I don’t know anything about bridges or the value of bridges, but out of respect for my uncle and the high esteem in which he held this bridge, I have put a price on it to honor his memory. Oh, the bridge sells “as is”, payment by wire transfer, no guarantees, no refunds, no returns.

Bridge

And when the deed is done the bridge seller will shout to the rafters as Iago observes to Cassio in Shakespeare’s Othello: “As I am an honest man ..!” Maybe he is, who cares (see seller motivation discussion below).

We have received half a dozen inquiries here at World Headquarters about this crafty listing. Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original 370308740347 listing online. You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image. You have got to love some of this stuff; you have to love it!

Fake Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Vase SignatureSo keeping in mind that an analysis from photos is no substitute for having the piece in hand, here it is:

The vase does not appear to exhibit the variability of finish typically found in Cire Perdue. It seems frosted either with acid or sand, instead of being Cire Perdue glass. Look at the design close up in the photo of the signature.

The underside of the base is polished and flat. Everything from fingerprints to imperfections, to almost a look of glass flow in some areas, incorporated shards and other issues that you typically see when looking thru the base of a Cire Perdue vase are not evident in the photos of the polished solid base shown in the ad.

Fake Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Vase BottomSo this is two different flags. We can’t say that no cire perdue vase would have a polished and flat underside as even the Oracle has not seen every last one of them. But totally polished and flat is not a hallmark of a Lalique Cire Perdue Vase base. Of course, if you had not ever had one in your hand, and were only working from a photo, how would you know what the underside of the vase should look like?

The extended base itself is not coherent with the vase, or typical of how Rene Lalique Cire Perdues are normally designed.

The signature from the photo is not typical of the period Cire Perdue signatures we have observed in person. It also differs from the signature on the known authentic original discussed below that is in the collection of the Musee des art decoratifs in Paris. And again, if you have not had Cire Perdue in your hand, you may not have access to what the signatures look like.

Fake Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Vase in ProfileThe signature appears frosted-over in the photo. This would not be typical with Cire Perdue.

The vase appears in shape and in reality to be a mold pressed vase. Briefly, in a mold pressed vase such as Ceylon, or Rampillon or Bacchantes, the inside is normally nearly smooth, as the plunger under high pressure presses molten glass into the relief design and the area between the plunger and the metal mold also has glass in it, else there would not be contact to have the pressure on the glass to push it into the relief design part of the mold.

Also, the plunger has to come out of the mold after pressing, so mold pressed vases are typically shaped wider at the top than at the bottom in a tapered looking way. Of course, it is possible to have offshoots in the mold where glass can flow in solid, and you can even have a wider base, such as with the press mold vase Danaides.

In a mold blown vase, like a Cire Perdue vase, the glass blows out into the high relief areas, and they are generally “hollow” would be a good way to describe the inside of the relief design, with the shape of the inside of the vase mirroring the shape of the design of the outside. Put your fingers into any blown vase such as Six Figurines et Masques, or Sauterelles, and feel the design from the inside, something that you can’t typically do in a press mold vase. One other example to point you to on mold-blown vases is the famous Cire Perdue Exhibition Vase Huit Perruches that is shown in part in the Rene Lalique Bio here on the site. You can put your fingers into the birds from the inside of the vase, they are hollow not solid.

Rene Lalique Quatre Feuilles De Rhubarbe Cire Perdue Vase 1913 in the Musee des arts decoratifs in ParisNow, there can be what we’ll call dimples on the inside of design elements in a press mold vase with high relief, little dips behind high relief design elements. From surmise and not glassmaking experience, these little dimples could be caused by the extra thickness of the glass where the high relief design element is, that is thicker than the surrounding wall area of the vase. When the vase is taken from the mold at the proper time, the thick design area will be a bit hotter than the wall, and there can be a little bit of a dimple created by very minor glass flow in the hotter area. But this is not the same as basically hollow where you can feel the design from the inside.

The vase in the ad has basically solid relief design elements typical of a mold pressed vase.

And think about the purpose of press molding, high pressure in a metal mold. Not in a clay or plaster mold used for Cire Perdue, where the pressure would typically blow the mold apart.

The design of the vase in the ad appears to be a loose copy of the vase design from the Lalique Cire Perdue Vase Quatre Feuilles De Rhubarbe, CP14, that is at the Musee des arts decoratifs in Paris. This famous vase was bought by the museum directly from Rene Lalique in 1913. According to the 1991 Rene Lalique Exhibition Catalogue from the Musee that is available here in the Rene Lalique Books and Library Section on Lalique Exhibition and Museum Books, on the museum’s inventory documentation it is noted their vase is a “Unique Piece”. Hard to believe that Rene Lalique would sell this as a unique vase to the curators of the Musee des arts decoratifs, and then make a copy or near copy to sell to someone else.

Rene Lalique Exhibition Catalogue Book from the Musee des arts decoratifs in Paris 1991 ExhibitionNote that we have this great museum book available in hardback, softback, English or French, new and nearly new. This book also has the included great photo of the famous authentic CP14 vase which you see here.

Obviously, analyses can differ, especially from photos. But between the great “bridge” language in the advertisement and the 10 or 12 points above, you should avoid the vase.

In the end, keep two things in focus. First, the motivation of the seller is irrelevant to you as a potential buyer. You only care what you know and what you get, not what the seller thinks or knows. It’s too much of a waste of time to worry about the motives or lack of motives of the seller. Worry about the piece! And two, in this instance the seller is not even claiming the vase is an RLalique vase, or that it’s a cire perdue vase, let alone an RLalique Cire Perdue vase. Maybe the ad is supposed to get you to make that conclusion on your own. Maybe not. Either way, we’ve concluded that the vase should be avoided!

UPDATE 12-23-09 and 2/1/10: The sellers canceled their listing after the appearance of this News and Blog article, removing all their photos and substituting bridge photos! Bridge photos! Guess which bridge! You have to love it! But they have now removed the bridge photos as well, so the only thing left is the Uncle story! END OF UPDATE

February 26th, 2010 Update: Switched Item Link To Cached Image Version

Rene Lalique Jewelry: R Lalique Brooch Le Baiser – A Lalique Kiss – An RLalique Hug – And The RLalique.com Daily Mail

October 18th, 2009

Rene Lalique Le Baiser Jewelry Brooch: The Kiss

Rene Lalique’s jewelry and all his original works have created a great public interest around the globe. As a result, every day mail pours into RLalique.com World Headquarters with people interested in everything from R Lalique Identification or authentication, to wanting to purchase something or track down a piece they have been looking for, or to talk about the Rene Lalique Sellers Services we offer, or wanting some Rene Lalique Consulting or looking for an R Lalique Appraisal; the emails and the reasons for them run the gamut of just about anything you can imagine to do with the great Rene Lalique.

We thought we’d publish one of our many email exchanges from this week to give you a glimpse of some of the goings on here at the desert hub of worldwide RLalique activity. From this email exchange, you might think we have WAY too much free time, but nothing could be further from the truth!

We’ve made minor edits to remove the identity of the RLalique.com Enthusiast, and to add photos and links for the benefit our RLalique.com Blog readers.

The Email Question:

Lalique Exhibition Book: Jewels of Lalique“Hey there,

Ok, you guys may be my last hope of finding an answer I’ve been looking so long for. About approximately 16 or 17 years ago we had at our Dallas Museum of Art, a fantastic Lalique exhibit. One of the items was a brooch of a man & woman just about to kiss. It must have been made of frosted crystal. It looked like a piece of carved ice. It was beautiful. But engraved around the edge of the brooch were words. Beautiful words that I thought I’d never forget. The words were just a short phrase. But now, I cannot remember what they said. This is my question. Do you know how I can find out what the words say? In my recent searches, I see they have mimicked this brooch on a perfume bottle. It seems the brooch may be called Le Baiser brooch (1904) If I knew at the time it would be so hard to remember I would have wrote it down at the time…. Can you help me?”

Our Reply:

Lalique Exhibition Book: Rene Lalique 1860-1945Hi RLalique.com Enthusiast. Thanks for contacting us and for visiting our website.

The brooch “Le Baiser”. This seems like a tough question. But, we have the answer!!!!!

The brooch you are asking about is owned by the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris… having been donated to them in 1960.

It was lent by them in 1998 to the 3 city exhibition “The Jewels of Lalique” that was in NY at the Cooper-Hewitt, and in DC at the Smithsonian, and then in Dallas the last couple months of 1998 ending on January 10th, 1999 which is where you saw it.

The brooch also was in Japan in 2000-2001 at a huge exhibition of RLalique held there at 3 locations including in Tokyo at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum that we talked about in the Blog a couple months ago… which is the former residence of Prince Asaka and which contains the great Lalique Doors!

AND, most importantly, it appears in the book Lalique Par Lalique, the smaller early edition from 1977/1983, where they discuss the inscription that is enameled on the edge!

“Je reve aux baisers qui demeurent toujours” ….. I dream of kisses eternal! Or ….. I dream of kisses which stay forever!*

And so do we!

Best Regards,

RLalique.com

PS – It is amazing what you can put together in a few minutes when you are sitting in the middle of The Rene Lalique Books and Library room! (End of Reply)

This brooch was donated to the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in 1960 by a son of Rene Lalique named Rene Le Mesnil. You can read about it in the Lalique Jewelry section of the Lalique Biography here on the website.

Lalique Book: Lalique Par LaliqueSeriously, we know how the ancients felt when they walked into Ptolemy’s great Library at Alexandria! Ok, not that “seriously”, but you get the point

And of course, the Lalique Exhibition Catalogues for the exhibitions mentioned in our reply and shown in photos here are obviously available in the Rene Lalique Books and Library section here on the website. They will be found in what is by far the largest selection of Lalique Exhibition Books and Catalogues for sale anywhere in the world. The Lalique Par Lalique book mentioned in our email reply is also in the Library in the section on Modern Lalique Books, where similarly, you will find it among what is by far world’s largest selection of post war books on Rene Lalique and his works.

And don’t forget when you are traveling, to check out our extensive list of Lalique Museum Collections around the world. Wherever you go, you won’t be far from some great R Lalique items.

Now here is the reply (verbatim) from the RLalique.com Enthusiast!

Amazing!!!
You guys are my HERO!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much….
..I would give you a hug!!!!!!
So here’s a cyber HUG !!!!
Thank you
(End of Reply)

Hmmmm, we never got a cyber hug before! But it’s greatly appreciated!

And now you know, not just a little more about Rene Lalique, you also know that the Testimonial Page here at RLalique.com likely contains just a small sampling of the great responses and reactions we’ve had from our global readership to the concept of our website!

Finally, having received our first cyber hug, we will leave you with this thought:

Nous rêvons aux étreintes qui demeurent toujours” ….. We dream of hugs eternal!

*Based on reader input we altered the 2nd translation changing the word “last” to the word “stay”.

Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Glass Vase: An R Lalique Opportunity Knocks?

September 27th, 2009

Lalique Vase Coq Et Plumes - Not Cire PerdueQuick! Your chance to grab a cheap piece of R Lalique Cire Perdue Glass is evaporating with each passing second. Just as the lost wax melts away, so your opportunity is draining away as well. Run, don’t walk to your computer (oh, you already are on your computer, hmmmmmmm) and bid early and often on the Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Vase that has appeared on Ebay. Here’s the title of the ad:

Art Deco R Lalique Cire Perdue Vase COQ Crystal Signed!

And here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original 400075284244 listing online. You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.
Get your bid in before some smart buyer gets the seller to sell it cheap off-line and stop the sale.

This is the best line from the description: “Up for consideration from the estate is an Art Deco R Lalique Cire Perdue Vase that was located in a locked curio cabinet in the family room.” Glad to know it was in a locked cabinet. That’s a mark of authenticity if ever there was one, and something all potential buyers really need to know if they have any doubts about the claims of the seller. Yes, it was locked up totally, which means it’s definitely Cire Perdue. 🙂

If you are tempted to jump right in with that big bid, you might want to consider The Rene Lalique Consulting Services we offer before throwing your money away :).

And of course, you can see some examples of real R Lalique Cire Perdue by checking out the blog posts here at RLalique.com that discuss Cire Perdue. And we also we have a few R Lalique Cire Perdue Vases partially pictured on the Rene Lalique Bio page as well.

Be careful out there. And oh, doesn’t this Cire Perdue Glass vase look strangely similar to the R.Lalique production vase Coq Et Plumes? Probably just the lighting in the photo.

R Lalique Guarantee: A Good Rene Lalique Laugh! That Lalique Dog Won’t Hunt!

June 13th, 2009

Rene Lalique Fake Glass DogLalique Glass Dog: “Garanteed” 75 Years Old AND “correctly” signed R Lalique! Correctly! We love it. It’s really important when you sign these things, that you do it “correctly”!!! Is this the greatest or what? Fraud and Funny – they’re both F words aren’t they?

“A Great Rene Lalique Crystal Scotty Dog”! “Garanteed (that’s right, it’s “GARANTEED”) 75 Years Old”! Does anyone know if a “GARANTEE” is the same thing as a guarantee? Seriously, why stop at 75 years? Why not go for 175 as long as you’re rolling in it? Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original Rene Lalique Fake At Auction listing online. You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.

Grandpa (who wasn’t even from the South, but still had a bucket full of quaint expressions) used to say that you could write the word DOG on the side of a CAT but that wouldn’t make it bark! Well, what if you write R.Lalique on the side of a dog? Maybe the dog can do one of those O.J. “plaintive wail” sounds instead of a bark. Totally hilarious.

Another great thing about this crazy auction are the photos! They WATERMARKED the photos! Hmmmmmm ….. Don’t want anyone copying those great art photos and not giving credit where credit is due!

Then there’s this: “HE IS IN GREAT CONDITION FREE OF CHIPS OR CRACKS!” Well isn’t that a relief? Thankfully we won’t have to write the seller to ask about the condition, he’s got it right in the ad. Now we can bid with confidence!

This seller has all the bases covered boy. Protect the photos, issue the “garantee”, layout the condition right up front (is that “garanteed” too?), trumpet the age of the piece; all of this obviously after extensive research. Not missing a trick here, no way.

Of course, you’ll find this same dog pictured in our Rene Lalique Fakes Section, where it has been in residence not for 75 years, but for nearly 1 year!

We have only one more thing to say about this “Rene Lalique Scotty Dog”! Beam us up Scotty! Beam us up!

And for your info:

That Dog Won’t Hunt – at metaphordogs.org

And from Merriam-Websters.com Dictionary:
Plaintive – expressive of suffering or woe
Wail – to make a sound suggestive of a mournful cry

So “plaintive wail” is kind of an audible double dose of bad news….. That shoe fits pretty well.

August 21th, 2009 Update: Switched Item Link To Cached Image Version

Lalique Glass Inkwell (Encrier) Cover: The Rene Lalique Cernay Inkwell At Auction: Sans Ink, Sans Well!

May 31st, 2009

Rene Lalique Glass Inkwell Cover For Cernay InkwellRene Lalique Glass Cover to the R Lalique inkwell Cernay (Catalogue Raisonne Number 437) has appeared at auction advertised as a Small Lalique Glass Bowl! Hmmmmmm. A better caption to this photo would be: “How Do You Make The Bottom Of An Inkwell Disappear?” Now that’s a question the Oracle himself might ask! Inquiring minds might ask: How does the seller even know it’s Lalique glass?

The starting price is $0.99 (that’s ninety nine cents) and no reserve! Maybe the seller really is mrmeshugener! Seriously, this is the seller’s Ebay ID, we can’t make this stuff up!

Rene Lalique Glass Inkwell Cernay Without CoverHere is a ink to a cached version of the Ebay Item: 320378153310***.

Several of the Rene Lalique Inkwells have plain covers that weren’t decorated. But the Cernay is one model where Lalique used the cover as an integral part of the design of the piece. So unlike some other R Lalique inkwell covers, this cover is not interchangeable with any other model inkwell.

Rene Lalique Glass Inkwell CernayOn the other hand, if you have the topless Lalique Inkwell Cernay shown above, and you match up the Cernay Cover from MrMeshugener, you will be in Cernay Heaven (hence the expression “A Match Made In Heaven”), as shown here!

Good luck, and if you get it all done, we’ll see you there, hopefully later rather than sooner.

***You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.

Rene Lalique Ashtray: R Lalique Deux Zephyrs Online: Listed as Lalique France – $5 – No Reserve

May 12th, 2009

Rene Lalique Ashtray R Lalique Deux ZephyrsRene Lalique’s early ashtray (cendrier) Deux Zephyrs appeared online at auction this morning. Listed as a Lalique France Coaster Open Salt and sporting a starting price of $5 and no reserve, it seems like a great opportunity to get one of the first of the R Lalique ashtrays at a fair price (but probably more than $5. 🙂 The ashtray is signed on the underside R. Lalique France as shown here and is circa 1913. The description indicates the ashtray is in pretty good condition with the seller having over 1400 feedbacks at 99.6% positive, and a set shipping price in the U.S. of under $6.

Update: The sellers canceled their original listing and have re-listed the item on Ebay to correct the errors in their description as item number 320370910728. It’s now $9.99 no reserve. The new auction expires May 19th.

Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original Rene Lalique Ashtray Deux Zephyrs listing online. You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.

This item is also listed in our Rene Lalique Worldwide Auction Section.

July 19th, 2009 Update – Switched item link to cached version.

 
 

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