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Posts Tagged ‘R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases’

Lalique Poissons Vase in Red Rene Lalique Glass Makes Another R. Lalique Record Price At Auction

April 24th, 2012

Rene Lalique Poissons Vase In Red GlassRene Lalique items continue to get strong prices throughout the world at auction, a good-looking Red Poissons Vase on April 4th in Paris being no exception. Aguttes auction house offered a nice selection of around 15 R. Lalique items at their sale of 20th Century Decorative Arts that day, with the high seller being a Console Table made by Charles Bernel from drawings by Rene Lalique for the Lalique Pavilion at the 1925 Art Deco Exposition In Paris. The rectangular marble table with carved supports made just over €50,000 all in.

Rene Lalique Signature On A Poissons Vase In Red GlassBut it’s the next high seller, at €41,628 all-in against a pre-sale estimate of €16,000 – €18,000 that is most interesting in terms of the current market. That price was paid for Lot 67, the patinated red glass Lalique Vase covered with fish. The price for the Poissons Vase translates into about $55,000 which is almost certainly a record price for a Red Poissons at auction. The Lalique signature shown here was inscribed on the vase.

Rene Lalique Designed Marble Table Executed by Charles Bernel For The Lalique Pavilion At The Exposition des Arts Décoratifs In Paris In 1925Third high seller in this same sale was a great looking rare candelabra pair in the model Trois Branches Raisins, selling for €31,627 all-in.

The sale of the good looking R. Lalique Poissons Vase makes yet another mark on the trail of higher and higher prices. We’ve written previously about the demand and pricing for Rene Lalique glass when Lalique buyers see red, but this price strength, fueled by worldwide bidding interest at auctions, is evident across much of the collecting field. Once again, another great result and a great day for the great Rene Lalique.

R. Lalique Courges Vase in Red Lalique Glass Makes A World Record Price In Detroit

February 15th, 2012

Rene Lalique Red Glass Courges VaseRene Lalique Red Vases do extremely well at auction, as evidenced by a string of world record prices for different R.Lalique Vase models in red glass over the last few years. Recent examples include a red glass Perruches Vase which sold at Bonhams in London on November 16th, 2011 as Lot 157 in their sale, “Rene Lalique: Designs in Glass” for £42,050 (about $68,000 at that time), as well as the red glass Rene Lalique Hirondelles Vase which famously made a world record auction hammer price for any R. Lalique colored glass production vase in November of 2010. And also on December 9th, 2010 a Red Ronces Vase selling as Lot 56 made £10,000 British Pounds at Christie’s South Kensington (about $16,000 at the time); also a likely world record price at auction for the Ronces Vase model.

And while red glass vases have done extremely well as of late, the world records have not been limited to either red or rare, as shown by the opalescent glass Rennes Vase, which made a world record price for that model selling as Lot 10-875 on November 17th, 2011 at Christies South Kensington in London for £18,750 or about $30,000 at the time! A person (and a hat-tip to our confederate “Pol” from south of the equator for being that person and bringing this to our attention) could make the case that in some respects, the relatively common Rennes Vase making that kind of price is more impressive than any of the red stuff.

Rene Lalique Red Courges VaseBut be that as it may, the numbers are much bigger when bidders see red; red and rare being an explosive combination in the price department. February 11th, 2012 in Detroit at Dumouchelles auction house was no exception. For on that day, an R. Lalique Courges Vase appeared in Lalique’s red glass. Introduced in 1914, the Courges Vase is one of Lalique’s earliest production vases. Red Courges are rarely seen at auction, the last time being the Red Courges at Davidson Auctions in Australia on August 8th, 2008 where it sold for AUD41,940 all-in against a pre-sale estimate of AUD9,000 to AUD11,000. The final price was about $38,000 U.S. at that time.

And note that there is an active private market as well for all models and colors of R. Lalique, the red Courges being no exception (well activity is limited a bit by rarity:). We placed a red Courges Vase through the Lalique Wanted section here at RLalique.com near the end of 2011 in a transaction between clients of two different countries. That placement came after over 2 years of searching for one of course.

The Courges is one of Rene Lalique earliest vases, with both the shape of the vase and the design on the vase being in harmony with the vase’s gourd motif.

Rene Lalique Red Courges Vase SignaturesAnother great thing about the Courges is that it many times has multiple interesting signatures, owing to the manufacturing techniques of the period; the Dumouchelles example being no exception as shown in the accompanying photo. Other Courges multi-signature examples can be seen in the linked article on authentic R Lalique Signatures here on the website.

The auction house reports that there were at least 8 serious bidders, with a handful still bidding near the end.

Rene Lalique Red Courges Vase Rim From AboveWe talked to some of those interested parties and they all had great things to say about the professionalism and excellent service they found at Dumouchelles, something we at World Headquarters have also experienced in our contacts with everyone at Dumouchelles. The active bidders included collectors and dealers from continental Europe, England, the U.S. and at least one other continent. Hopefully, several of the bidders will have remembered to tell Dumouchelles what auction houses around the world have been hearing for years on their R.Lalique items; “I saw it at RLalique.com!”.

One final note from the auction house: On Wednesdays, Dumouchelles holds open consignment days, where people just walk-in with what they have to offer, and the auction house never knows what might appear. Well, the great Red Courges Vase walked-in on a Wednesday (and flew out on a Saturday). Go figure.

Against a pre-sale estimate of $3000 to $6000, the final price was $47,500, and with the buyers 20% premium, $57,000. The world record for this vase model, and a great R. Lalique result.

Rene Lalique Red Courges Vases Pair

How rare is the red glass Courges Vase? Well, after leaving the factory and the retailers back in the day, it’s unlikely that two of these vases have ever been together in the same room again …… until recently. The accompanying Two Red Courges photo shows a pair of the great and rare vases sitting together on a window shelf. They are part of an extensive current collection of R. Lalique items. One of the two pictured Courges is the vase acquired thru the Lalique Wanted section here at RLalique.com, having appeared quite literally out the blue (out of the red?) in an email a while back that began; “I am in possession of a vase that appears in your Wanted Section …. “. True enough the writer was.

And yes we know; several of the underbidders this week on the Dumouchelles Red Courges are seeing double red themselves after viewing this great double Courges photo!

A red hot market for the great Rene Lalique.

Rene Lalique Perruches Vase – A Lalique Copy That Is A Copy And Paste Of Lalique Photos And Description

June 7th, 2011

A real Lalique Ebay Eye Roller – Item No. 200616966765, an R-Lalique-Yellow-Perruches-10-Vase. A Rene Lalique Cased Yellow Perruches Vase brought to our attention by alert readers of this website. $1200 no reserve. Great pictures and great description:

R. Lalique Yellow Perruches 10″ “Vase. A translucent yellow glass vase, lightly frosted; relief molded with multiple parakeet couples perched in the trees. A bulbous form tapering towards the base with a thin raised rim at the top. Signed “R. Lalique”; no chips breaks, cracks or repairs. 10″H.

Let’s go back to May 2010, just a short year or so ago. Fontaines Auction Gallery in Pittsfield Massachusetts offers a great looking Perruches Vase! Great pictures can be seen at their online listing. Those photos look awful familiar. The vase sold for $12,000 hammer price. Here is the description from 2010:

Perrruches Vase Side View R. LaliqueR. Lalique Yellow Perruches 10″ “Vase. A translucent yellow glass vase, lightly frosted; relief molded with multiple parakeet couples perched in the trees. A bulbous form tapering towards the base with a thin raised rim at the top. Signed “R. Lalique”; no chips breaks, cracks or repairs. 10″H.

Does this description sound somewhat similar to the current Ebay listing?

So this is not the kind of Perruches Vase Copy we discuss in the Copies and Close Calls Section of the website. No, it’s the Copy and Paste type copy we put on the R. Lalique Police Page! Let’s face it, it is kind of suspicious.

Perrruches Vase Rim R. LaliqueBut where is the initiative with people today, not even bothering to write a new description? At least correct the typos in the thing if nothing else. Of course the lister had the good sense and free time to cut the watermark off of the bottom of the photos from last year’s listing, which is why some of the Ebay photos seem like the bottom of the vase is cut-off :). And talk about lack of ambition, the old listing had 10 different photos, but for reasons we can only guess at (and we will shortly), the seller on Ebay is using just 9 of them. Here is the missing photo that maybe someone figured with the writing and marks around the signature it can be matched up kind of easy to another photo or a vase. Just an assumption, but whatever the reason it’s missing from the current auction, we supply it here for all our readers to draw their own conclusions!

Perruches Vase R. Lalique Signature

Get your bids in early and often for the 90% price drop Perruches Vase! Oh, and you get FREE SHIPPING if you are the lucky winner! Local pick-up in Cleveland obviously not an option of course.

Lest anyone wonder if buyers get fooled, it was late last Fall if memory serves us well, that a longtime East Coast U.S. dealer was rumored to have gotten caught as the winning bidder for a Red Poissons Vase on Ebay which turned out to exist only in the photos from a previous auction sale. The red vase photos sold for the too good to be true price of around $7,000!

Now that’s just a rumor of course, but a word to the wise nonetheless: Be careful out there.

R.Lalique Sales Records Fall: Lalique Glass Shines At Christies South Kensington Lalique Sale

May 30th, 2011

Rene Lalique Aiicante Vase in Cased Green GlassR. Lalique Glass chalked up another outstanding sales performance on May 26th at the mainstay semi-annual Lalique Sale held at Christies South Kensington in London. The sale has become a focal point for collectors and dealers around the world, and the last several showings have been quite strong, this rendition being no exception.

The sale featured 127 R. Lalique works. 19 of those 127 lots failed to sell, leaving a take-up rate of over 85%, a great result by any measurement. The R. Lalique sales totaled £585,620** including the buyers premium for the 108 sold lots, for an average price per lot of £5,422. Figuring an exchange rate of 1.63 dollars to the British Pound, the sale total was $954,561 and the average price per lot was $8,839.

Rene Lalique Formose Vase in Agate Colored GlassThe sale started out well enough with a good run of Lalique’s Formose Vases comprising 9 of the first 12 lots. Joy McCall, the knowledgeable 20th Century Department Head at South Ken had a phone bidder who according to our man in the room bought 8 of those 9 vases! The prices on the 9 Formoses ranged from a low of £2,250 to a high of £12,500, with four of the Formoses making over £10,000. Lot 11, the agate colored Formose Vase (a cased somewhat gray opalescent shown here) was the high Formose seller and almost certainly a world record price for that color of this model vase.

This solid start set the tone for the rest of the session, with colored and other rare vases leading the way, but by no means the only strong sellers.

Rene Lalique Terpsichore Vase in Opalescent GlassHigh selling lot was tie between two vases, Lot 40 a good looking cased green Alicante Vase, and the final Lot 139, the opalescent Terpsichore Vase, both making £39,650. This is likely a world record price for the Terpsichore, this author knowing of no other example of this model having made over $60,000; this one hitting roughly $64,500.

Also breaking the £30,000 level was Lot 22, an amber Serpent Vase which made £34,850, just exceeding the former world record price for an Amber Serpent Vase set last December in New York City by Heritage Auctions of $56,673.

Rene Lalique Gui Vase in Blue GlassSurpassing the £20,000 mark were Lot 138, a frosted Bacchantes Vase on bronze stand which made £22,500 and was arguably the strongest result of the entire sale and at over $38,000 a possible world record price for a frosted Bacchantes Vase. In addition Lot 18 a black Lezards et Bluets Vase made £22,500, and the ever popular art deco frosted with black enamel combination drew £23,750 for Lot 20, the Oranges Vase, and a strong £22,500 for Lot 23, the Tourbillons Vase.

Among strong results of note was £7,500 for Lot 37, the opalescent Danaides Vase, £8,125 for Lot 46 the blue Gui Vase, £5,000 for Lot 78 the Inseparables Clock, and £7,500 for the opalescent Borromee Vase selling as Lot 127.

Also of note was Lot 85, the Armes D’Angleterre Seal that made £8,750 from an Internet bidder, who was up against a young woman in the room. This seldom seen seal graced the pages of the Lalique Auction Listings here at the website for several weeks prior to the sale.

Rene Lalique Serpent Vase in Dark Amber GlassWith the auctioneer taking bids from around the globe including South Africa, Hong Kong, Bahrain and elsewhere (thankfully he didn’t mention Arizona), the depth and expanse of interest left smiles on the faces of the entire Christie’s staff but also left much of the regular crowd in the audience scrambling mainly for plates and bowls.

Price wise, the trend has certainly been the friend of all enthusiasts of the great Lalique as of late, and this sale showcased the across the board strength that has been the hallmark of the market for RLalique for several years now. Further consistent with recent experience, there were not a bunch of lots making runaway prices. Rather, the general tone has been solid and steady strong prices with increases in many items, and high absorption rates for quality items at anything resembling recent market pricing. A word to the wise of course is that the trend is your friend, until it isn’t!

Finally, this R Lalique News would not be complete without recording the several comments from participants concerning the professionalism and competence of the Christies staff. On the phone for inquiries or bidding, in correspondence, or on site at the previews or on sale day, our man at the auction and other daily followers of this website have consistently reported a high quality experience at Christies South Ken.

** All totals, averages, and currency conversions are approximate.

Rene Lalique Lights It Up At Sotheby’s: Lalique Lighting Leads Great Lalique Sales Results In New York City

March 12th, 2011

Rene Lalique Veronique Veilleuse

Rene Lalique’s star once again shined brightly in New York, this time at Sotheby’s 20th Century Design Sale on March 10th. Sotheby’s offered up 15 great lots including a rare collection of five seldom seen Veilleuses, as well a few hanging light fixtures, a couple of nice vase lots, two attractive plates, one cachet, and two lots of architectural panels.

Rene Lalique Bacchantes Vase In Gray GlassThere were three hanging light fixtures: the half bowl shaped Charmes with four matching glass plaques incorporated into the hanging cords, the rare Madrid Chandelier, and the large Fougeres Chandelier. The Madrid (pictured below) was the high seller for Lalique with an all-in price of $46,875 (all prices in this article include buyers premium), the Fougeres made $31,250, and the Charmes made a very strong $16,250.

For the vases, Sotheby’s presented a gray glass Bacchantes which tied for second high seller for Lalique at $34,375, and a rare Deux Anneaux Lezards Vase, an elegant and tall clear vase with hanging lizard decorated side rings, which made $31,250.

The plates were composed of the attractive though frequently seen Calypso, a nearly 15 inch wide plate which made $3,750 as the second lowest selling Lalique item, and the enameled rare Souris plate of nearly identical size which brought $18,750.

Both architectural panel lots were of the “Fleurs” design; each included more than one panel, with both lots presented in modern frames. One of these lots reached $21,250, while the other hit $32,500 claiming the fourth highest selling slot for Lalique.

Rene Lalique Souris PlateLow Lalique seller was the iconic 1910 Gros Bourdon (Large Bumblebee) Seal that sold for $2500.

A Veilleuse is a night-light, basically a small table lamp. Of the five Rene Lalique Veilleuses, the rare and highly attractive Pissenlit Veilleuse sold for $34,375 making it the other second highest Lalique seller of the day, while Hirondelles, Veronique, and Branches De Prunus Veilleuses made $25,000, $23,750 and $22,500 respectively.

The 15th lot and the fifth Veilleuse, was the Veilleuse Brule-Parfum (perfume burner) Pommier, which sold for $21,250.

The works of the great Rene Lalique totaled $365,625 for an average of over $24,000 per lot. Note that you can see all of these items and thousands more by going to the Past Lalique Auctions main page at RLalique.com. There you can research great Lalique works in the RLalique.com past auctions database by category, such as all the Lalique Lighting or all the Lalique Plates in our database.

In spite of the fact that many of the wonderful items in this Sotheby’s sale are not widely collected (likely owing to the fact that some are so rare there just aren’t many examples to go around), the sale results showed strength across the board and represented yet another highly successful auction in a continuing trend of great auction results for R. Lalique. The take-up rate for R. Lalique (sold lots as a percentage of offered lots) in this sale? 100%. Oh yeah!

Rene Lalique Madrid Chandelier

Rene Lalique Sales Prices: R. Lalique Upward Price Trend Continues at Christies Lalique Auction

December 11th, 2010

Rene Lalique Car Mascot Comete

Rene Lalique sales continue to make strong results at auction as shown at the December 9th semi-annual sale of R. Lalique at Christies South Kensington salerooms.

Christies offered up 239 mostly R. Lalique lots, with 172 of those lots selling for a total price including buyers premium (all prices in this article include the premium) of £698,263. Christies figured the equivalent US dollars at $1,103,959 using an exchange rate of around $1.58**. The take-up rate in numbers of lots was 72%, and in British Pounds it was 68%.

Rene Lalique Sauterelles Vase in Opalescent Cased GlassTop seller, and no surprise was Lot 23, the Lalique Car Mascot Comete, which made £58,850/$92,042 against a spot on estimate of £50,000 – £60,000. A fair price, it sold to the local trade for stock. A few of the other pieces that were in the running before the auction for high seller, such as the rare (and wonderful design) Tresor de la Mer Perfume Presentation****, a lot which was rumored to have serious issues, failed to sell. And a couple of others that might have been, just did not catch the attention of the bidders to the degree necessary to move them into first place!

Second high seller, and a bit of surprise was the cased white opalescent Lalique Vase Sauterelles, which against an estimate of £10,000 – £15,000, reached £30,000/$47,430. No doubt this is a world record price for this model vase in cased opalescent glass.

Rene Lalique Picardie VaseNote: Keep an eye on the Rene Lalique Sales Section at RLalique.com. There’s already a good selection of colored glass and other vases, and it is rumored that another Cased White Opalescent Sauterelles Vase will be offered in the near future.

The great early (1912) Rene Lalique grasshopper vase design got serious interest throughout the sale as a green glass Sauterelles sold as Lot 54 for £21,250/$33,696, and a frosted and patinated Sauterelles topped $10,000 making £6,875/$10,869!

Third high seller was the interesting 1931 Lalique Enfant Statue. The statue, possibly made as the centerpiece for a table, had a well documented provenance from Rene Lalique’s workshops, and was a good-looking and attractive design as well. Against an estimate of £25,000 – £30,000, it made £27,500/$43,478.

Rene Lalique Paperweight TobyNext high seller was Lot 207, the OK looking (we don’t know about the condition) yellow amber opalescent Suzanne Statue which sold for #23,750/$37,549.

It tied in price with Lot 236, a green Perruches Vase, and squeaked in just ahead of Lot 225, the blue Perruches Vase at #22,500/$35,573.

It’s apparent that at least for now we’ve reached new consistent price levels for many of the various colors of Perruches vases, with several sales this year in the range of $35,000 to $45,000.

Matching the blue Perruches Vase price was the good looking and scare Lot 30, the Picardie Vase.

Rene Lalique Ronces Red VaseNotable upside surprises included Lot 1, the Toby Paperweight which made £5,250/$8,300 to start the sale off with a bang, and Lot 56, the Red Ronces Vase at £10,000/$15,810 certainly another world record price continuing the red hot Lalique Red Vase trend. Even some lesser priced lots outdid themselves such as Lot 147 consisting of a Chiens Bowl and Chicoree Bowl which made £2,500/$3,953.

Or how about a Palestre Vase with a replaced base (yes, a replaced bottom) that sold for £17,500/$27,668, just sliding into the top 10 seller list? Things are really strong when you see that.

The Christies results owe as much to the great selection assembled by Joy McCall and the knowledgeable staff at Christies, as they do to the overall strong market trends. This sale, with some great new records and strength throughout most areas, may turn out to have the highest sale total of the year for R. Lalique in a single auction. But the result is no outlier, as even less publicized and smaller offering auctions have achieved some significant price gains for Lalique’s works, which we will undoubtedly bring to your attention in the not too distant future.

Rene Lalique Sauterelles Vase in Green GlassIn the meantime, remember that even in strong markets, caution must be exercised in your collecting efforts. Getting caught up in the sweep, and spending heavily on assembled items, paying top dollar for low quality examples, or buying other pieces that you might avoid if you knew better (or if you got a second opinion), is no way to create a world class collection. Read Rene Lalique reference books, get as R. Lalique educated as you can, handle as much R. Lalique as you can, get independent R. Lalique advice, take care in your associations, avoid hucksters and fraudsters (they will always get the better of you), and exercise restraint and caution as you would in any financial dealings. If you do all this, you are likely to enjoy the results of your collecting efforts to a far greater degree, hopefully for a lifetime instead of a short time, than you will if you throw caution to the wind.

** The exchange rate of $1.58 on the day of the sale would not have been generally available to most buyers depending on the transaction size, method of payment, and to some degree the importance of the buyer with their financial intermediary. But for simplicity sake, we are using the Christies rate for all conversions in this article.

**** The 1936 Tresor de la Mer Perfume Presentation, made by Rene Lalique for Saks, is the highest selling Rene Lalique Perfume at auction in history, making over $200,000 in November 2006.

Rene Lalique Antiques at Heritage: R. Lalique Sales Rate Near 100% – R. Lalique Sales Total Near $870,000

December 5th, 2010

Rene Lalique Vase Serpent in Amber GlassRene Lalique Antiques made another great showing December 4th at Heritage Auctions in New York City at their sale of Lalique, Art Glass, and Perfume Bottles. Heritage offered 177 R. Lalique items in Session 2 of the 3 Session Sale***, and then 48 more R. Lalique pieces in an internet only bidding Session 3. All of the 177 lots in Session 2 were reported sold (which may not be correct, we thought there were half dozen no-sales from watching the auction but we could be wrong about that), and 45 of the 48 in the Internet only Session 3 were sold. Total R. Lalique sale offerings were 225, total reported sold were 222 for a reported take-up rate 98.6%.

Rene Lalique Vase Serpent in Amber GlassTotal sales dollars for the 222 lots were $869,906 or an average of $3918 per lot. Even if we are right about the small number of no-sales, the take-up rate would still be above 95%, and the lot average and sale total would not be materially affected.

High seller was the great looking Lalique Serpent Vase in rich amber glass selling as Lot No. 70334. An outstanding example of this increasingly hard to find model (a New York Lalique Dealer was overheard to say it was a “5” – “1. Best 2. One 3. I’ve 4. Ever 5. Seen”), it hammered town at $47,500 and totaled $56,762 including the 19.5% buyers premium. This is almost certainly a world record auction price for this model. Coincidentally, the Lalique Sale in New York last year for Heritage also saw a Rene Lalique Serpent Vase in amber glass as the high selling lot. Last year’s offering made a hammer price of $40,000, and $47,800 all-in.

2nd high seller, and a bit of a surprise placement, was the Source De La Fontaine Statue Echo, which made an all-in $33,460 selling as Lot No. 70338. Note: In the Past Lalique Auctions Section at RLalique.com, you’ll find R. Lalique past sales broken down into many categories. It’s worth checking out!

After the Echo, next high seller was a dark amber Lalique Gros Scarabees Vase, that made $28,680 selling as Lot No. 70332.

Rene Lalique Perfume Bottle For Roditi & Sons Raquel Meller FragranceTwo other lots topped $20,000, including the Red Poissons Vase at $23,900 and the great looking Lot 70171, the 1925 black and orange enameled Roditi & Sons Perfume bottle Raquel Meller making $20,315 all-in. This is one of the most striking and seldom seen of all Rene Lalique Perfume Bottles (the link will take you to the Rene Lalique Bio Perfume Bottle section where you will find links to all R. Lalique Perfume Bottle resources on RLalique.com).

Spots six and seven were taken up by a frosted Victoire Mascot and an Amber Perruches Vase, both making north of $19,000 all-in.

Another great sale, an amazing take-up rate, strong pricing and even a bit of world record pricing.

Rene Lalique Poissons Red VaseIs this sounding familiar or what?

*** Note: At least one lot of R. Lalique was a mixed lot with other items and is reported as an R. Lalique lot.

Rene Lalique is Red Hot! R. Lalique Hirondelles Vase Sets Record Lalique Colored Vase Auction Price

November 29th, 2010

Rene Lalique glass continues to make new record high prices as it appears at auction around the world. Sunday November 28th was one of those record price days.

Rene Lalique Red Hirondelles Vase

First spotted by an alert staff member here at World Headquarters in early November (staff members do all the work but remain totally nameless and anonymous, getting no credit and even less pay!), the nondescript auction listing in an obscure place read as follows:

“Lalique Rose Console Bowl”!

The automatic follow up email headed to the Douglassville Pennsylvania office of Ron Rhoads Auction House (and inquiring minds ask, why isn’t it Ron AND Eileen Rhoads Auction House, or Rhoads and Rhoads, that has a nice ring to it) that simply said:

“Hello. We saw in your listing for Nov 27th that you had some Lalique. If any of it is signed R. Lalique, can you email us a photo or point us to a photo on the web? Thanks” Note: the sale was a two day sale on the 27th and 28th.

Turns out Eileen Rhoads is no slouch and she replied the same day with the above photo of the red piece that was not signed R. Lalique.

Rene Lalique Hirondelles Vase In Red Glass

Definitely red wouldn’t you say? And signed R. Lalique or not, it’s what the two Hatfields were overheard to say just before the shooting started: “That’s a real McCoy”! ****

Well, after further inquiries and information gathering, we posted this Great Lalique Red Glass Vase not just in our R. Lalique Auctions listings, but we also did a News & Blog article about the appearance in rural Pennsylvania of this Classic Red Lalique Vase, that sported the timeless 1919 impressed LALIQUE signature. We thought at the time that it needed all the exposure we could give it, in order to ensure that everyone around the world was aware of this great colored vase and that all interested parties would have a chance at it. Also, the discovery of great things in quiet places makes for a pretty good story too!

Rene Lalique Oranges VaseFast forwarding a bit to November 28th, 9 (that’s nine) phone bidders from the U.S. and several countries around the world, as well as several different bidders that made the trip to the Rhoads’ auction venue in Spring City Pennsylvania (many of whom volunteered “I saw it on RLalique.com”, the rest must have just been tight lipped), competed to take the vase to a hammer price of $115,000, which this writer believes is a record hammer price for any R. Lalique Colored Glass production vase at auction anywhere in the world. All-in, with the modest 15% buyer’s premium, the total cost to the winning bidder before any sales tax, was $132,250! This all-in price falls just short of the all-in record for a Lalique colored glass vase, which is believed to have been made at Sotheby’s in New York City on December 14th, 2007 for a cased yellow amber opalescent Oranges Vase (optimistically but incorrectly referred to as the “Orange Oranges”), which hammered out for less than the Hirondelles, at $110,000, but had a bigger buyer’s premium of $23,000, for a total sale price of $133,000. This writer happened to stumble into the room at Sothebys in New York just before the bidding began on the Oranges Vase back in 2007, and after a modest amount, by memory well under $50,000, it was just two bidders to the roof.

For the great red vase, the auction house reported that there were several bidders still in the bidding at $100,000, and several others just below that. A stunning display of the depth of interest in great R. Lalique colored glass vases from places all around the globe. Not only did the vase set a sales record, but also the Rhoads’ have a heck of an up to date list of serious R. Lalique buyers for anyone looking to auction off some great R. Lalique items!

In the end, the vase sold in the United States, to a Southwestern U.S. collector! Hmmm…

Hatfield Family Photo

In the audience at the auction were two of the heirs to the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Baker. Mr. Baker was a railroad collecting legend and author, and Mrs. Baker was known as the “Queen of Glass”, having written a featured column for 19 years in a major antiques publication. The Baker Estate was selling the vase thru Rhoads (and Rhoads). Neither the heirs nor the regulars in attendance had any warning that this was going to be the high selling piece or that it would sell so highly. After the great vase crossed the block, there was applause throughout and tears among many of the interested parties that were involved with the estate and the auction. Another great day for the great Rene Lalique!

**** The Hatfields and the McCoys carried out the most famous and legendary family feud in American history. The Hatfields (shown above in the great family photo) lived mostly on the West Virginia side of the Tug Fork River (which is a small tributary to the Big Sandy River), and the McCoys lived mainly across the stream on the Kentucky side. The feud lasted from 1865 to 1891 and many members of both families were killed and various family members taken to trial for crimes committed during the feud. This feud has become folklore and is referenced regularly to describe bitter long running disputes in the U.S. The phrase “the real McCoy” is a phrase that denotes the genuine, real, or authentic thing. There are many theories about how the phrase came to be, one of which actually involves the feud! But likely the phrase has nothing to do with the Hatfield-McCoy drama, we just thought it worked in nicely since the red glass vase IS the real McCoy 🙂

Lalique Vases Lead Firm R. Lalique Sales Results at Bonhams London New Bond Street

November 25th, 2010

Rene Lalique Vase Terpsichore

Rene Lalique Glass was represented in Bonham’s November 17th London “Design from 1860” Sale by 25 lots near the end of the morning sale session. As is typical, just over half, or 13 of the lots were the famous Lalique Vases, including two lots which had two vases in each lot.

Rene Lalique Coffret FigurinesHigh selling vase and high seller for all the Lalique was the great looking 1937 Art Deco and figural oblong Lalique Vase Terpsichore in opalescent glass. It made £27,500 hammer price, or £33,000. And at 1.68 to the dollar (used for all computations in this article), about $55,400 including buyers premium. A standout result and an indicator that high-end opalescent vases are participating in the price gains seen the past several years by Lalique’s colored glass vases. For more information about this lot, check out the original Lalique Terpischore Vase auction listing in the Auctions Past section of the website.

Rene Lalique Piriac Vase in Blue GlassNext high seller, at £21,600/$36,300 all-in, was the Lalique Coffret Figurines. Selling as Lot 264, the wood box with glass panel inserts, sported only 2 glass panels, and did not match the 5-panel model shown in the catalogue raisonne. It also may be the same box that has been offered at auction in two other countries without success in the last year or so. Nonetheless, to Bonham’s credit, the attractive box went off at a great price, and a well-earned 2nd place in the Lalique Sales sweepstakes.

Rene Lalique Car Mascot Grande LibelullePrices dropped off pretty quickly from there, with the next several high sellers making roughly a quarter or less of the 2nd place price. Lot 254, a good looking Lalique Piriac Vase in blue glass, came 3rd at £5,760/$9,700. 4th/5th slot was a tie between Lot 252, a yellow amber and cased opalescent Lalique Chardons vase, and Lot 249, a Lalique Grande Libellule Dragonfly Car Mascot. Each was all-in for £4,800/$8,100.

Of the initial 25 offerings, 24 found new owners, for a nearly perfect take-up rate of 96% for the works of the great Lalique. In all the Lalique sales totaled £107,340/$180,300 with the two top lots representing roughly 50% of the 24 lot total.

For more information about the great Lalique’s vases, check out the Rene Lalique Vases section of Lalique Biography at RLalique.com, where you’ll find links to all the Lalique vase information and resources on the website.

Rene Lalique Vase Hirondelles in Red Lalique Glass Appears in Rural Pennsylvania

November 18th, 2010

Rene Lalique Hirondelles Vase in Red Glass

A rare and attractive red glass R. Lalique Hirondelles Vase circa 1919 has appeared at Ron Rhoads Auction House of Spring City, Pennsylvania. Spring City is in Chester County, just southeast of Pottstown near the Benjamin Franklin Highway (which is US-422). It’s less than an hour drive northwest of Philadelphia. The sale date is November 28th.

Rene Lalique Hirondelles Vase in Red Glass SignatureIf you’re making the trip, this entire area is rich in American history, with everything from the Liberty Bell to Independence Hall open to the public in Philadelphia. There are cheesesteaks too, but that is another (tasteful) story. Heading out of Philadelphia to Spring City, US-422 passes right by Valley Forge, the infamous winter camp of the Continental Army during 1777-1778.

Rene Lalique Hirondelles Vase in Red GlassThe wonderful vase, with the molded 1919 impressed LALIQUE signature, is one of the great early colored Rene Lalique Vases. Hirondelles is the French word for Swallows, which adorn the vase in a red and frosted band around the midsection, and which contrast with the highly polished finish of the red glass on the un-decorated parts the vase. The auction house says the vase is in amazing nearly new condition.

You can read more about this great find in the Lalique Auctions section of RLalique.com. And you’ll find links to all the vase information at RLalique.com in the Rene Lalique Bio Lalique Vase section.

This vase is in the estate of Mr. And Mrs. Stanley Baker of Minneapolis Minnesota. Mr. Baker had a very interesting life. Among other things, he was a longtime and well known Railroadiana collector and a noted author. His wife wrote for the Antique Trader.

The contact at Ron Rhoads is Eileen. The phone number there is 610-385-4818.

Update: Read the RLalique.com report about the sale of the great R. Lalique Red Vase!

R Lalique Glass Shines at Sothebys: Rene Lalique Art Continues Its Upward Price Trend

November 11th, 2010

Rene Lalique Poissons Table Lamps

Lalique Art Glass sold extremely well in Sotheby’s London Fine 20th Century Design Sale on November 9th. This continued a trend of strong Rene Lalique auction pricing which has been ongoing for the last several years.

Rene Lalique Bellecour VaseSotheby’s offered 18 attractive R Lalique pieces, with the majority being the iconic Lalique Vases, many of them colored glass. 16 of the lots sold, for a take up rate of 88%. All the lots that did sell went in or above the estimates, many times well above.

The sale totaled (including buyers premium for all prices discussed in this article) £305,625, or in dollars (at 1.68 dollars to the pound) $513.450. This works out to average sales prices of £19,102 or $32,091.

High seller was the attractive and rare Lalique Clock Le Jour et la Nuit: The Day and the Night Clock in very attractive blue glass. This clock is one of the artistic triumphs of Rene Lalique and it made a reasonable £91,250/$153,300 against an estimate of £60,000-£80,000.

Rene Lalique Day and Night Clock in Blue GlassThis one lot represented 30% of the total Lalique sales prices for all 16 sold lots. But this was by no means a runaway price as this model Lalique Clock in blue glass has previously sold in this price range.

Second high seller was the Lalique Vase Bellecour making £28,750/$48,300 against an estimate of £12,000 – £18,000.

A strong price indeed and a bit of a surprise as this vase outsold some strong colored vases to make its 2nd place showing. Several Bellecour vases have appeared in the past couple of years, but price wise, this one outshone them all by a substantial margin.

Rene Lalique Serpent VaseThird best lot was a rare pair of the 30 cm tall Rene Lalique Table Lamps in the Poissons model. These lamps sold for £25,000/$42,000 against a spot on estimate of £20,000 – £30,000.

Fourth place was taken up by the red glass Rene Lalique Vase Escargot. Escargot vases in colored glass are getting very hard to find at public auctions. Also very scarce are true red glass Lalique Vases. These two factors no doubt helped the bidding along to the final total of £22,500/$37,800 against the pre-sale estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.

Rene Lalique Archers VaseFifth high seller was the Lalique Poissons Vase in an attractive green color, one of the many varieties of green that this vase has been seen in. The Poissons made £20,000/$33,600 against its conservative estimate of £8,000 – £12,000.

Overall 10 of the 16 sold lots were vases, accounting for £146,875/$246,750, or just under half the Lalique sale total.

One other price worth mentioning was achieved by three different highly popular and attractive vases, all of which sold for £16,250/$27,300.

Rene Lalique Escargot VaseOne was a butterscotch colored (cased yellow amber and opalescent) Archers Vase, one was an opalescent Bacchantes Vase, and the third was a clear and frosted Rene Lalique Serpent Vase. While not representing a giant leap from previous sale prices, this may be the highest price ever paid at auction for a clear and frosted Serpent Vase.

The colorless Serpent Vase selling for the same price as the Butterscotch Archers and the Opalescent Bacchantes shows just how strong the demand is for rare Serpent Vases in today’s market, as even non-colored glass versions of this great Rene Lalique design can compete on price with highly popular opalescent and cased colored versions of other attractive but more plentiful Lalique Vase models.

Here are all the Rene Lalique Sales Results for this sale:

Lot 55 – ‘Anémones’ circular mirror – £8,750/$14,700
Lot 56 – ‘Bacchantes’ vase – £16,250/$27,300
Lot 57 – ‘Poissons’ pair of table lamps – £25,000/$42,000
Lot 58 – ‘Le Jour et la Nuit’ timepiece – £91,250/$153,300
Lot 112 – ‘Cigognes’ vase – £7,500/$12,600
Lot 113 – ‘Baies’ vase – £7,500/$12,600
Lot 123 – ‘Serpent’ vase – £16,250/$27,300
Lot 124 – ‘Perruches’ vase – £5,625/$9,450
Lot 124 – ‘Bellecour’ vase – £28,750/$48,300
Lot 126 – ‘Cardamine’ lamp – £12,500/$21,000
Lot 128 – ‘Escargot’ vase – £22,500/$37,800
Lot 129 – ‘Grande Nue Socle Lierre’ – £15,000/$25,200
Lot 130 – ‘Madagascar’ bowl – £6,250/$10,500
Lot 131 – ‘Poissons’ vase – £20,000/$33,600
Lot 133 – ‘Archers’ vase (amber) – £6,250/$10,500
Lot 134 – ‘Archers’ vase (butterscotch) – £16,250/$27,300

Lots 114 and 132, Antelopes and Poissons Vases respectively, did not sell

The period between November 1st and Christmas is traditionally the time of year when the highest volume of Rene Lalique works appear at auction, and this year is no exception. There are several auctions with large numbers of Lalique offerings coming up in the next several weeks. And there will be over 100 auctions with lesser numbers of R. Lalique lots as well. You can follow all the auction action and keep informed about all the upcoming Rene Lalique auction offerings in the Lalique Auctions Section at RLalique.com. And for research and information on thousands of previous Lalique auction sales, check out the Past Lalique Auctions pages as well.

R Lalique World Record Prices: Rene Lalique Glass Sales Prices At Auction Reach New Highs

October 15th, 2010

Rene Lalique Vase Blue PerruchesR Lalique Glass has set several world record prices at auction in 2010, as strong auction sales become the norm for the works of Rene Lalique around the world. With some great sales still to come before year end, we thought we’d bring four of these auction prices to the forefront for a variety of reasons, including that as a group, these pieces sit squarely in the mainstay of R Lalique collecting.

In May in London at Christies South Kensington’s traditional semi-annual sale of R Lalique, three Perruches Vases by the great Lalique, sold for top dollar (well, top pound :). A green Perruches made £30,000 all-in, and a Blue Perruches made £32,500 as did an Amber Perruches as well.

Rene Lalique Vase Amber PerruchesWith some research, we were unable to find these three colored Perruches Vases ever making these prices previously at auction!

These sales prices were a bit of a jump from current trends, but they were not unexpected considering the increasing demand for quality colored vases and the short supply, as well as generally strong auction pricing throughout the last several years across nearly the entire spectrum for R Lalique works.

Then at Bonham’s usual sale of Automobilia at Quail Lodge, held this year over two days on August 12th and 13th, where they offered roughly a dozen R Lalique Car Mascots, another world record price was set!

Rene Lalique Coq Nain Car Mascot in Topaz GlassThe high selling Lalique mascot, beating out Victoire (at $14,640 all-in), two different Vitesse (at $10,980 and $8,540 all-in), as well as a Cinq Cheveaux ($9,272), La Grenouille ($9,150), and a good selection of lesser priced mascots, was Lot 507, a dark topaz with red center Coq Nain Car Mascot. The R Lalique Coq Nain made $20,740 all-in! We are unable to find any example of this model and color that has even come close to this price at auction.

Again, not some esoteric one-off piece, but another mainstay R Lalique collectible, a colored version of a somewhat common Lalique Car Mascot. For more information on Lalique Mascots, check-out the R Lalique Car Mascots Section of the Rene Lalique Biography at RLalique.com, where you’ll find links to all the information on the website about the car mascots of Rene Lalique.

Quietly, but consistently, R Lalique has been making firm prices across the board. And in the prime and most popular areas of the collecting field, price are pushing into record territory in many instances.

Rene Lalique Vase Green PerruchesWith over 60 R Lalique Auctions listed in our Worldwide Auction Section as we write this, a record of our own for auction listings in mid-October, over 1000 R Lalique Auctions listed so far this year, and likely at least a couple hundred more to come before we close out 2010, it’s shaping up to be the strongest year yet in a string of strong R Lalique Sales years that were in place before the economic crisis of the past couple of years, that continued unabated during the downturn, and that appear to be getting even stronger as the world slowly tries to put its economic house in order. And no, we are not proud that we have strung together over 100 words in one run-on sentence.

And if you run across a great R Lalique auction price as you pursue your R Lalique interests, please email and tell us about it. We’ll include great auction prices in our auction wrap-ups that we publish from time to time.

R. Lalique Online: Ebay And The Eagles – Lalique And The Beetles

August 7th, 2010

EBay is a great marketplace for the works of Rene Lalique. Cool and rare objects appear out of the hinterlands and offer opportunities for collectors they would never have seen before. And just the sheer volume of daily trading of R. Lalique items creates liquidity in the market and contributes to the overall stability of the worldwide collecting field. It’s a great place to sell items with low transaction costs, and a great place to buy pieces as well.

But like all things, the story is usually not entirely one sided, and as regular visitors to RLalique.com are aware, many items are listed on Ebay under the R. Lalique banner, that are not always exactly what they seem.

Rene Lalique Beetle VaseThe RLalique Police Page always has a “good” selection of various problematic Ebay auctions listed for anyone that wants to take the time to investigate before bidding on something. And we can’t leave this topic without mentioning of course, that we also do offer affordable Lalique Consulting for any purchase, not just on Ebay but for any auction item (or an entire auction) or private sale worldwide.

One Ebay item in particular was brought to our attention by several alert readers in recent days and it has graced the top of the RLalique Police listings since it first appeared online. The auction was purportedly for the Rene Lalique Vase Gros Scarabees: The Lalique Beetle Vase! The auction ended today, and while we were looking at the Ebay Item Page in feigned disbelief, the refrain from the old Eagles standard kept running thru our minds:

There’s gonna be a heartache tonight,
A heartache tonight, I know.
There’s gonna be a heartache tonight, I know.
Lord, I know.

Rene Lalique Beetles VaseWhat makes this listing so “great”, is the sheer laziness of the Ebay seller combined with the obvious warning signs. Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original 190426530971 listing online***, the “Grosses Scarabees Vase”. You can’t make these names up, they just appear! How did this become the “Grosses”? Simple, the seller copied that information directly from a previous online auction listing along with the exact same three photos in that previous listing!

The original seller of this vase last year, an auction house that regularly sells R. Lalique, made a mistake in their heading when they brought the vase to auction in June of 2009 and called it the “Grosses Scarabees Vase”. The current Ebay lister just copied out the info, correct, mistaken, no matter. See the original listing for yourself here: Grosses Vase.

And the three photos? Well, they are actually just one photo that was then given different effects (lighter, darker, highlights) to make it appear to be three different photos.

Rago reports that with buyers premium the vase sold last year for $8400. Then it appears on Ebay a year later, with an $800 starting price and no reserve! And the lucky winner gets it for only $2000! Oh, and FREE shipping too! That’s a really big expense for the seller that he’s throwing in :). How great is this?

Well, we already know how this story is going to end:

There’s gonna be a heartache tonight,
A heartache tonight, I know.
There’s gonna be a heartache tonight, I know.
Lord, I know.

***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.

Lalique Sales Continue Strong: Lalique Results At Bonhams London Continue R. Lalique Auction Success

June 27th, 2010

Rene Lalique works continued with strong pricing at the June 16th Sale of Design from 1860 held in Bonham’s New Bond Street salerooms.

Rene Lalique Coquilles Amber Light FixtureLalique was represented by 47 lots in the auction comprised mainly of a solid mid-range group of offerings. The Lalique achieved a take-up rate of over 80% owing to the decent quality of most of the lots as well as the realistic estimates.

While Rene Lalique Vases represented over 60% of the sale with 29 items, the two high sellers were found elsewhere. Top seller, going off as Lot 367 was the “Rocky” statute, the Source De La Fontaine Statue Adriane (from the 1st Rocky Movie: “Yo Adriane!”), which made an all-in £12,600 (all prices in this article include the 20% buyers premium) against an estimate of £9,000 to £12,000.

Rene Lalique Formose Vase in Agate Cased GlassRunner-up was the elegant amber glass light fixture Lausanne at £6,960 selling as Lot 349. Another light fixture also did quite well, the somewhat common Coquilles hanging fixture in an uncommon amber glass making £3,360 as Lot 350.

Tied for third in price were two classic Lalique Vase models, the opalescent glass Ceylon Vase, and the Formose Vase in a rare cased opalescent and agate coloring. They sold back to back as Lots 334 and 335, both making £4,800.

Rounding out the top five sale prices were a Suzanne Statue (with serious issues) at £3,600 and a Marisa Vase in Gray Glass at £3,480.

Rene Lalique Vase Marisa in Gray GlassDepartmental Director Mark Oliver* and his staff did a great job of assembling a solid set of mid-market items which got good interest from both trade and private bidders. Overall, the Rene Lalique pieces made almost exactly £77,500, with the 38 sold lots averaging over £2000, or roughly over $3000 at today’s exchange rates. The sale marked another in a long line of successful public auctions this year for the works of the great Rene Lalique.

Rene Lalique Light Fixture Lausanne in Amber GlassAll auction resources at RLalique.com can be accessed from the Lalique Auctions section of the biography of Rene Lalique, where you will find links to past and future auction info, links to news and blog reports and much more. And don’t forget, when considering auction (or private) purchases, RLalique.com can help you achieve your collecting goals while minimizing the chance of regrets, through the Lalique Consulting Services offered to buyers and sellers of R. Lalique items.

*Mark Oliver can be reached at (mark.oliver@bonhams.com +44 (0) 207 468 8233).

Lalique Sales at Christies: Rene Lalique Makes Very Strong Prices for Scarce and Colored Pieces At Semi Annual Lalique Sale

May 30th, 2010

Rene Lalique fared quite well at the semi-annual Lalique Sale at Christies South Kensington on May 26th.

Lalique Vase Perruches in Blue GlassThe sale for RLalique items totaled (all prices include buyers premium, dollar conversions are approximate) £540,850 Brit Pounds, or about $782,000, with 151 RLalique lots of the 192 total RLalique lots selling, for a take up rate of approximately 79%.

The main strength was in the better items, especially colored vases and rarer pieces, with 18 lots selling for over $10,000. 7 of those 18 sales were the iconic Lalique vases, including Archers in opalescent at $14,500, three Perruches vases two of which, dark amber and blue, tied for top lot in the entire sale at $46,600 each, while the third made $43,000, a Blue Farandole that looked quite worn making $18,000, and the wonderful model Camees at $14,500, which seemed quite cheap if the condition was decent. The 7th vase over the mark was a black enameled Lagmar which made $12,600.

Lalique Vase Perruches in Blue GlassThe rare car mascot Epsom made $18,000 with some issues, purchased by Geoffrey Weiner and the mascot Grande Libellule made $10,800. A nice looking pair of Oiseaux Et Spirales Panels made $12,500, while four statues made it over $10,000 including a frosted Thais at $10,800, an opalescent Suzanne at $14,400, a Grande Nue Socle Lierre at $18,000, and Source De La Fontaine Echo statue at $18,000.

Lalique Vase Perruches in Blue GlassRounding out the top lots were the opalescent half bowl Plafonnier lighting fixture Lausanne at $11,700, the frosted Madagascar Monkey Bowl making $19,800, and two different Hirondelles Appliques, one of which made $17,000 while the other sent for $10,800.

These top 18 lots accounted for $358,000, or about 46% of the sale in dollars for RLalique.

Other notable prices included a smoky colored Archers vase and a clear and frosted Sauterelles Vase, each at $9900, $8000 for a frosted Poissons Vase, $5400 for an opalescent Violettes Vase, $7600 for an opalescent Prunes Vase, $6300 for the Dandy Perfume Bottle for D’orsay, $4000 for an Amber Bresse Vase.

It seemed that more common pieces continued to go for steady prices, with most of the better results (strong relative to the market) concentrated in harder to find lots and colored vases.

This sale represented another change of direction for Christies, including substantially more lots than recent Lalique sales. Much of the additional merchandise was accounted for by lower to mid range value items, but the sheer number of these lots added substantially to the sale total.

Lalique Vase Perruches in Green GlassThe most striking results centered around the colored Perruches Vases, with all three making very good prices relative to recent auction sales. This undoubtedly represents both a lack of large and popular colored vases in the marketplace, and the continued appearance of new collectors for these classic Rene Lalique colored vase designs.

Buyers looking for a good selection of colored vases will find them in the Lalique Sales Section of RLalique.com. And if you are interested in more information on upcoming auction sales, we recommend you check the Lalique Auction Section of the Rene Lalique Biography on RLalique.com, where you will find links to all the auction related information on the website.

 
 

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