Rene Lalique Vases – The Unsigned Green Gui: “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma;…” to borrow a phrase from Winston Churchill’s October 1939 Radio Broadcast about slightly more serious matters.
There have been many questions raised over the years about R Lalique Gui Vases and whether or not there is a copy or close call that should appear here in the appropriate place in the Rene Lalique Copies and Close Calls Section of this site. The issues center around low quality, feel and/or weight of the glass, color, and lack of signature.
And the immediate issue is the vase pictured here, which is Lot 2341 at Dumouchelles Auction House in Detroit on May 16th. This vase is cataloged as follows: ART GLASS VASE, CIRCA 1930, H 6 1/2″ Green bulbous glass with berry and leaf motif. Similar to Lalique. The reason for the cataloging in this manner, according to the auction house, was the lack of signature.
No one here at RLalique.com World Headquarters has ever had a Gui in hand that was adjudged a fake. But with recent events combining to raise multiple Gui Vase authenticity questions on several fronts, only one of which was the pictured vase, discussions were held among Oracles. Two different accounts in two different conversations about two different vases were given, both of which involved low quality Green Gui vases being marketed as the work of Rene Lalique. In each case, the reconnoiter had handled the vase they were describing and felt separately from knowing the other’s story or opinion on a separate Green Gui, that it was highly likely that they had a fake in their hand!
As most purchasers and collectors would rightfully be thrilled to have the consultation of either of these Oracles, we relay to you this caution: At least for Green Gui Vases that are unmarked, or that are marked with patently spurious signatures, proceed with care. There are obviously good legitimate Green Gui Vases, and the one pictured may very well be one of them. So each vase has to be checked out. But if you see the particular example in person, and have reasons to raise questions (the feel of glass, the weight, the mold quality, the color, the signature), then you might want to pass and leave the leap to others.
As further information becomes available, we will pass it on to you. If any of our readers in the Detroit area sees and handles this vase in person, we’d like to hear your observations. And if anyone out there has additional information on any Gui Vase that they consider questionable, or any other information that would be helpful in clearing the fog of Gui Vase history from the lenses of our reading glasses, please contact us, so we can spread the word.
Lalique Perfume Bottle Le Succes by Rene Lalique for D’Orsay: The rare circa 1914 Lalique Perfume Bottle Le Succes, a commercial version of the great Maison Lalique Perfume Bottle Amphytrite, has appeared online in seemingly good order, from a Kentucky seller, with a starting bid of $30 and no reserve. Both the perfume bottle and the stopper are different than the Lalique Amphytrite bottle, but both are so close in design that the unmistakable relationship is very evident. Both stoppers feature a female figure, both bottoms feature a snail shell style design.
The pictures in the online auction ad are not all that great, but the identity of the bottle is still discernible. All three photos from the online listing are shown here. The seller has near 400 feedbacks with a 100% rating. Hopefully (for the seller :), the seller is in the “smart seller” category we talk about here from time to time. We wrote the seller to get the condition particulars, and received this reply: The bottle has no chips or cracks. Having never seen another I am not sure if the pale green is true or faded. Thank you for asking. Carla. Later, the seller added: The letters are impossible to read in their entirety. The first letter is an “L” then it looks like a partial “A” and then the next letter looks like a partial L or “I” then nothing i can see and then “QUE”. I do not see “France”. And also: If this turns out to be a fake which I don’t think it is, I will just refund the purchaser their money. Neil Diamond would love this seller! But as always, check it out for yourself! The auction ends on May 9th.
Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original 
Rene Lalique Perfume Bottle Camelia for D’Orsay Appears at Auction: A wonderful and pretty rare R Lalique perfume bottle Camelia circa 1912 has appeared at auction online. It started at $9.99 no reserve, and is already over $800. The seller, as is usual in the circumstances, apparently did not know the true value of this perfume bottle, did not know the name of the bottle, and did not know the bottle was the work of Rene Lalique. He has been inundated with requests to stop the auction by buyers hoping to get a bargain. Humorously, the seller posted the following in his ad: “I have been asked to end this early and will not! So please stop asking me!” Smart seller!
This bottle was reportedly made in two sizes, 9 and 10.5 cm, both of which appeared in the Lalique Sale in Paris at Boisgirard and Associes on December 6, 2005 which was the liquidation of many great items from the Marie Claude Lalique estate. At that sale, the smaller bottle was listed at 9.5 cm, but as you can see from the photo in that 2005 sale catalogue which is shown here, it appears there is more than a 1 cm difference in the heights of the two bottles. Also, neither bottle was signed, just like the one currently online. It appears from the measurement in the ad for this Camelia, that this is the larger of the two.
Rene Lalique Fake Jewelry Appears With Increasing Frequency: There are currently several different jewelry auctions online falsely claiming to be the work of Rene Lalique. This is beginning to look like the start of a trend, there having been a fourth fake R Lalique jewelry auction which just ended recently with a reported sale price of $2000! The jewelry of Rene Lalique is not as well documented as his glass works. So we thought we would highlight some of this fake R Lalique jewellery (a hat tip for our British readers) in the hopes that unsuspecting buyers may be spared an expensive education! Below are the auction listing links (3 current, one ended), and of course, the four photos in this post, all of which are being marketed as period R Lalique jewelry; all of which are fakes. You gotta love the seller of several of these items: ALL SALES ARE FINAL. THERE ARE NO REFUNDS OR RETURNS AND PAYMENT IS DUE IMMEDIATELY”! Really? Or as an alert contributor to the 
Lalique Rare Vase Appears With A Good R.Lalique Signature: The Lalique Vase Agadir! Ring any bells? It’s Lalique Vase model number 12.245. It appears in the catalogue right after the Lalique Vase Everest, which of course is number 12.244, and right before the Lalique Vase Vincennes, number 12.246. But the catalogue is not the Catalogue Raisonne. It’s a 1950’s Lalique Cristal-Paris catalogue. But here it is, in the flesh (a LOT of flesh we might add), with what by all appearances is a good R.Lalique signature. And this sure seems like the sister vase to the Cristal Lalique Vase Paimpol (shown in the last photo below), which is model number 12.240, and which appears in the book Lalique Glass, by Nicholas Dawes on Page 105! As you have likely surmised, this excellent book, among its other virtues, is the favorite Lalique book of Mr. Dawes! Mr. Dawes states in the book that the Paimpol vase had a wheelcut R.Lalique signature. And we have word coming out of a meeting of Oracles held to discuss this very subject, that one of the Oracles that participated in the meeting confirmed beyond doubt the authenticity of the R.Lalique signature on the Paimpol Vase!
Rene Lalique Bowl Gui Not Shown In the RLalique Catalogue Raisonne Appears: At on online auction which ended this week, a rare R Lalique Opalescent Gui Bowl, in the Coupe Ouverte version appeared. There is a record of this bowl having been made, but it has not been documented with a photograph in the Catalogue Raisonne due to its rarity. On page 766 of the 2004 Catalogue Raisonne, there is blank spot for this bowl, with no photo of course, as item number 3322. Obviously with the well documented nature of the works of Rene Lalique, it’s pretty rare to have an item appear that is not shown in the Catalogue Raisonne, so we thought we’d point this bowl out to you, and provide a couple of photos of the bowl. 
A nice example of the work of Rene Lalique in a form not often seen. Overall, a pleasant shaped bowl with good opalescence. And for a bit over $800, seems like a great buy for a rare product of the great Lalique. And at least for now 🙂 the new owner can point to owning a piece “that is so rare it’s not even shown in the Catalogue Raisonne!” That surely is not something most collectors can say.
An R Lalique Ask Yourself This: What do some recently appearing clear and frosted Gros Scarabees Beetle Vases and Ebeneezer Scrooge have in common? Nothing jumps to mind? 🙂 Here’s what you do to find out. Check out this photo of a fake Rene Lalique Gros Scarabees Vase! Don’t spend too much time identifying the various smaller differences between it and the documented Gros Scarabees like the one shown in the Catalogue Raisonne, or the great Cased Green Gros Scarabees Vase in the 
Lalique Perfume Bottles: A short trip down memory lane as a great looking light blue tiara stoppered R Lalique Perfume Bottle Bouchon Mures walks into the US Antiques Roadshow in Miami Florida in 2001 for a 
Here is a link to a video where 
A long time collector has had this piece for a long time…makes sense.
The bottle was made by the H. Saumont Glassworks in the late 1920’s.
A reader emailed in this photo, asking if this atomizer had been identified. This is a great looking atomizer, and we told our man from down under that we’d post it up here for him and see if any of our users have information that can help him. We’re looking forward to seeing any comments or emails from you all that might shed some light on the identity of what for now is the Mad Max Thunderdome Atomizer ……… the atomizer with no name :).
Today at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, amongst several modern Lalique Crystal and RLalique glass items, was Lot Number 867, mundanely described as “Lalique water lily decanter vase”. This item was also listed for sale on Ebay Live as item number 140260527587. It was described as follows: “sides with frosted water lily leaves and trailing vines, base marked “Lalique”, probably early 20th century, 11-1/4 in. Mineral stains at base of interior, one leaf with chips, scratches, otherwise excellent condition.” The winning bidder paid $2400 plus an Ebay enhanced premium of 20% (versus 15% if phone bid), for a total price of $2760. I have three photos for you to look at. Check out the form, the signature, and the trailing vines running from the leaves (more evident in the larger Ebay photos linked above). What do you think?
