Posts Tagged ‘Rene Lalique Lighting: R Lalique Lighting Fixtures’
Rene Lalique Calypso And Ondines Light Fixtures – The Mailbag
January 30th, 2014
Ok Ok, there never was a Rene Lalique Calypso Light Fixture back in the day. But somehow they keep popping up, and we’ve had a few questions about them in our overloaded mailbag from time to time. So we figured with the latest inquiry, to clear it up not just for our current readers, but for anyone down the road that might be looking up at 5 or 6 mythical nude siren figures swirling around an overhead opalescent glass bowl shaped light fixture sporting an R. Lalique signature!
The inquiry:
I would be grateful for any help you can give me in authenticating a chandelier I own.
It would appear to be an Ondines Chandelier by R Lalique but I cannot find any reference on your or other websites to chandeliers appearing with the Ondines design.
I believe that the item has been in my family for at least 60 years. The bowl itself is 9 cm high and 30 cm diameter (approximately). The faint R Lalique stamp appears in the centre of the base of the bowl.
I attach three photos including one showing the Lalique stamp.
I am hoping that you can let me know whether the chandelier was made as such, is a bowl later converted into a chandelier, and in either case whether it is a genuine Lalique piece.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Mr. X
The reply:
Hi Mr. X. Thanks for visiting the website and for contacting us.
The bowl is not Ondines (6 sirens), but Calypso (5 sirens).
https://rlalique.com/rene-lalique-calypso-bowl
This appears (we don’t authenticate items that are not fully visible, and with the hardware on, your piece it is in that category) to be a converted bowl, with all the hardware added. Forgetting all the facts, think about Rene Lalique …. the undecorated flat bottom is the giveaway…. it wouldn’t** be like that for something made and sold by him as an overhead fixture …. it just doesn’t go over.
Because Calypso is bigger (Ondines bowl is 8 inches), it is more often seen converted to a hanging or ceiling fixture.
This is not the first of these we’ve seen of course:
https://rlalique.com/rene-lalique-calypso-chandelier
And see this very similar 2-siren model, which was sold as a fixture for the difference in how it would look from below as an original light fixture design by R. Lalique:
https://rlalique.com/rene-lalique-deux-sirenes-chandelier
Best Regards,
KOL
We could have skipped a lot of typing by just observing that it appears the sirens are still busy luring the unwary onto the rocks! **
And we didn’t get into the number of hanging cords with the questioner, but it appears from the photos that there are only three, and four would be much more typical for these hanging bowl fixtures from Rene Lalique.
Finally, on a more esoteric level, there is the whole question of altered items typically being deemed drastically less desirable and less valuable (or nearly valueless in many cases) by collectors when Lalique himself never would have put a curse on pieces put to good alternate uses. Usable art glass brought into the homes of everyday people; Lalique himself spoke about it. Heck, he invented it.
And about alterations, he drilled holes in many bowls (but not Calypso or Ondines) to attach hanging cords, and marketed them as light shades. He cut bowls in halves and quarters and called them appliques. He affixed seals to small dishes and called them ashtrays. He sold car mascots as paperweights, and re-used parts from some pieces to make others. He even drilled holes into the sides of vases for running electric cords to convert them to lamps. Heaven Forfend!
Just thinking out loud ……. well actually, just typing silently :).
** Of course a plain bottom did not prevent the marketing of Madagascar as a light fixture. But this is not really a direct comparison as the bottom of Madagascar though big, is crudely ancient (not in a bad way) and not flat.
*** In Greek mythology, the sirens lured nearby sailors to wreck their ships on the rocks by attracting them with wondrous sounds. Just above is The Siren, a wonderful painting by the 19th century British artist Edward Armitage. Even today, the phrase “siren song” is used to describe something that sounds great but is not going to end well.
Tags: Rene Lalique Bowls and R Lalique Bowls, Rene Lalique Lighting: R Lalique Lighting Fixtures Posted in Articles of Interest to Collectors, R Lalique and Rene Lalique Fakes-Copies-Frauds, The Mailbag | No Comments »
Rene Lalique’s Perruches Vases Fly High: New Records At South Kensington
November 25th, 2013
R. Lalique once again made a strong showing at the Christie’s South Kensington semi-annual Lalique sale on November 21st.
Vases led the way with several world record prices, yielding a sale total including buyer’s premium of £596,875 (all results are reported to include the premium), or about $960,000 at an exchange rate used throughout this article of about 1.61 U.S. dollars per British pound.
Of the total 157 lots in the sale, approximately 37 were modern crystal reproductions or just modern crystal designs, leaving 120 original R. Lalique pieces on offer. Of those 120 works of Rene Lalique, 20 failed to sell, for a take-up rate of about 83% on the original works. The 100 sold R. Lalique items added up to £484,724 or an average price of about £4850 ($7800) per lot.
Top sellers were led by a Perruches Vase in blue glass that made a surprisingly strong £55,000, or about $88,500. Next was a tie between two lots: an amber glass Perruches Vase and a pair of Lausanne Light Fixtures. Each of these lots made £32,500 or about $52,500. Fourth place went to a frosted Serpent Vase making £30,000 ($48,500) followed by another Perruches Vase, this one in opalescent glass, which sold for £27,500 ($44,500).
The top five lots accounted for £177,500 or over 1/3 of the R. Lalique total. 4 of the top 5 prices were for vases, and 3 of those vases were Perruches Vases.
Some other notable prices include an opalescent Ceylan vase for £13,750 ($22,000), a Dinard Box at £11,250 ($18,000), and a Quatre Cigalas Perfume Bottle at £4,375 ($7,000).
The price of the blue Perruches Vase, the last lot of the sale, represents a world record price at auction for a blue Perruches Vase, and for any Perruches Vase, exceeding the price of approximately $75,500 set in these same salerooms just 6 months ago. The price on the Ceylan is also a world record price for any Ceylan Vase at auction, as is the price for the frosted Serpent Vase, though colored glass Serpents have sold higher. Finally, the Dinard Box total also is a likely world record.
Here is a link to all the results (including the lot descriptions).
As usual, the staff at Christie’s South Kensington, led by the experienced Joy McCall, did a great job of assembling a diverse group of attractive and desirable items, and working with all potential bidders in a pleasant and professional manner.
Another successful sale for Christie’s South Kensington and another great day for the great Rene Lalique.
Tags: R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases, Rene Lalique Boxes and R Lalique Covered Boxes, Rene Lalique Lighting: R Lalique Lighting Fixtures Posted in R Lalique and Rene Lalique Auction News and Results | Comments Off on Rene Lalique’s Perruches Vases Fly High: New Records At South Kensington
Rene Lalique Lights It Up At Sotheby’s: Lalique Lighting Leads Great Lalique Sales Results In New York City
March 12th, 2011
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.
There 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.
Low 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!
Tags: R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases, Rene Lalique Lighting: R Lalique Lighting Fixtures, Rene Lalique Plates and R Lalique Plates Posted in R Lalique and Rene Lalique Auction News and Results | No Comments »
Lalique Cire Perdue: Rene Lalique Vase and Statue Lead Sotheby’s R. Lalique Sales Results
December 16th, 2010
Rene Lalique was represented by just 5 items in the sale of Important 20th Century Design at Sotheby’s New York on December 16th.
But those five Lalique sale items gave this Sotheby’s decorative arts sale the highest price total for R. Lalique in a single auction for the year 2010, with the 5 lots all selling, and making a premium inclusive total of $1,301,500!
Things started off well, with the Lalique Chandelier Normandie (Sotheby’s took pains to point out that this R. Lalique Normandie Chandelier was not on the ship of the same name) making a high bid/premium inclusive total of $55,000/$68,500 against an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.
Next up was the unique and totally cool roughly 2 foot by 2 foot four inch pastel, water color and pencil Rene Lalique illustration done by Lalique for the cover of the Christmas Issue of the famous French magazine L’illustration. Named “Noel”, the original Lalique work on paper reached $30,000/$37,500 against a conservative estimate of $15,000 to $20.000.
Following the successful offering of the painting, was a great looking Rene Lalique Peacock Table Lamp “Paons”.
This approximately 16.75 inches tall lamp did not have the pierced shade with finial attachment often seen on this model and of course, it’s an early (1910) well coordinated design between the glass shade and the lamp base decoration.
For the third time in as many lots, the great Lalique item topped it’s estimate, making $80,000/$98,500 against a pre-sale of only $40,000 to $60,000.
The fourth offering was the 1914 Cire Perdue Vase Baies De Cornouiller. The vase is a classic Lalique vase form, with a widening body coming up from the base and then pulling back over the shoulders of the vase into a rim whose width nearly matches the diameter of the base. This classically shaped vase had the added bonus of the high relief floral design wrapping around the great early cire perdue.
The Lalique Vase was a bit under 8 and 1/2 inches, and between two determined phone bidders it made $410,000/$494,500, topping the already strong estimate of $300,000 to $400,000.
The fifth and final item, was the Lalique Cire Perdue Statue Figure Femme Et Guirlande De Fleurs. This statue had been seriously damaged, having been broken into at least two pieces earlier in its life, and it has been said that it was put back together and restored under the supervision of Marie Claude Lalique.
Twice this statue was offered for sale at auction in France in recent years, where it failed to sell at much more conservative estimates, albeit in more conservative times for prices as well.
But every statue has it’s day, and in this strong market, and on this day the very optimistic estimate of $600,00 to $900,000, was buttressed by a write-up by Felix Marcilhac as a catalogue note, in which Mr. Marcilhac related that Marie Claude Lalique felt this specific statue was her grandfather’s most important work
The statue was the day’s high R. Lalique seller and at the same time was the only R. Lalique sale item whose bid price did not get into the estimate range, let alone exceed it. Fabulously, the tragic cire perdue statue made $500,000/$602,500 to top all Lalique and pull the sale total for the five lots well over the $1,000,000 mark. In dollars the statue’s price represented nearly 1/2 the R. Lalique sale total for the auction.
This price also made the R. Lalique Cire Perdue Statue the highest selling individual R. Lalique glass work at auction in quite some time. Quite a long time.
You can find all the resources at RLalique.com about Rene Lalique’s Cire Perdue Glass in the Cire Perdue Section of the R. Lalique Bio. This R.Lalique Statue is also listed in the Lalique Cire Perdue past auctions section at RLalique.com.
We seem to be wrapping up a lot of these reports with the observation that for the great Lalique, prices continue strong (but not overheated), great items are getting scarce, and the market continues to expand. What the heck, good news is always welcome!
This sale marks a strong note as we near the finish line in a great year at auction for R. Lalique. This is especially impressive when considering the state of the world economy, and the increased supply that has appeared on the market.
We’ll try to do at least one more Lalique sales results article before year end, to catch up on some odds and ends from the last month or so, that by themselves were quite impressive, and that in total lend more credence to the notions expressed on these pages about the current state of affairs.
Tags: R Lalique Cire Perdue And Rene Lalique Cire Perdue, R Lalique Drawings and Rene Lalique Drawings, R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, Rene Lalique Lighting: R Lalique Lighting Fixtures, Rene Lalique Statues Figurines: R Lalique Statues Posted in R Lalique and Rene Lalique Auction News and Results | No Comments »
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.
Lalique 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.
Runner-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.
Departmental 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.
All 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).
Tags: R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases, Rene Lalique Lighting: R Lalique Lighting Fixtures, Rene Lalique Statues Figurines: R Lalique Statues Posted in R Lalique and Rene Lalique Auction News and Results | No Comments »
Rene Lalique Glass at Sotheby’s London May Sale: Lalique Pricing Continues Strong
June 6th, 2010
Rene Lalique glass made another strong showing at Sotheby’s London on May 19th in their sale of “Fine 20th Century Design …”
Sotheby’s put together a strong group of rare and hard to find items that brought consistently good prices. There were a total of 8 Lalique glass items offered, and every lot exceeded its estimate, sometimes spectacularly.
The most interesting item was Lot 77, described as “A Rare and Early Anemones Coffret with an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000. This 22 centimeter long box has not been previously documented in the Catalogue Raisonne, though it is pictured in the book by Victor Arwas “Art Nouveau to Art Deco, The Art of Glass”, which is a 1990’s slimmed down version of his seminal work of similar title. But Sotheby’s included a catalogue note that they had talked with Felix Marcilhac and that the box would be included in the next Catalogue Raisonne edition. This information surely gave confidence to at least a couple of bidders, which pushed the price of the box just over the high estimate, ending at £26,250 all-in.
The high seller for the great Lalique was Lot 78, the Camaret table lamp. Estimated at an apparently strong £10,000 to £15,000, the lamp made an all-in total of £61,250, which is surely by far a record price for this model. Interesting was the signature on the bottom of the vase turned lamp of the number 1010, which is the Model No. for the vase. This lamp model has also appeared previously with the correct Model No. 2167 signed on the base of the “vase”. Likely not an issue, but of interest.
The results for the 8 lots totaled £245,625 including the buyers premium, or an average price of nearly £31,000 per lot. These results more than doubled the total high estimates of £116,500, or an average of approximately £14,500 per lot.
These great results are yet another in an increasingly long line of very firm pricing for rarer and hard to find works of Rene Lalique demonstrated not just by the Christies Lalique Sale which followed these offerings by a week in London, but reaching back to the year end 2009 sales such as the $48,000 price achieved for the Lalique Amber Serpent Vase at the Heritage Sale in New York. These results also comport with a significant amount of private sales activity we have seen at RLalique.com and elsewhere. It appears that the demand for the more sought after items continues to increase while the supply remains thin. Especially for rare and attractive items (such as cire perdue, unique jewelry, the coffret referenced above), attractive architectural items, quality early vases, and colored vases, there is not much on offer to meet the enthusiastic demand of a growing number of international buyers.
Complete results of this sale are reported in the Lalique Auctions Past Section of RLalique.com on the Sotheby’s Lalique Auction Results Page for this auction. They are also listed at the end of this article. Additional auction information and links to everything on RLalique.com about Lalique Auctions (upcoming, results, catalogues, articles etc.) can be found in the Lalique Auctions Section of the RLalique.com biography of Rene Lalique.
Lot 74 ‘FEUILLES DE VIGNE’: AN ICE BUCKET EST: £4,000 – £6,000 £8,125
LOT 76 ‘MADRID’: A CHANDELIER EST: £12,000 – £18,000 £39,650
LOT 77 A RARE AND EARLY ‘ANÉMONES’ COFFRET EST: £15,000 – £20,000 £26,250
LOT 78 ‘CAMARET (QUATRE RANGÉES DE POISSONS)’: A TABLE LAMP EST: £10,000 – £15,000 £61,250
LOT 79 ‘OISEAU DE FEU’: AN ILLUMINATING GLASS PANEL EST: £20,000 – £30,000 £46,850
LOT 82 ‘GRAND DEPÔT’: A PAIR OF TABLE LAMPS EST: £7,000 – £10,000 £18,125
LOT 83 ‘PROVENCE’: A LARGE PLAFONNIER EST: £1,500 – £2,500 £8,125
LOT 85 ‘JET D’EAU’: A PAIR OF WALL APPLIQUES EST: £10,000 – £15,000 £37,250
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Lalique Auctions: Christies Rene Lalique Results At The Semi-Annual Lalique Sale Are Very Strong
November 13th, 2009
Rene Lalique Auction Results for Christies South Kensington’s Semi-Annual Lalique Sale were very strong! Lalique auction items exceeded estimates and once again marked another in a string of very strong auction sales for the works of the great Rene Lalique.
The Lalique sale totaled ₤450,012 or approximately $750,000 U.S. including buyer’s premiums. Note that all prices mentioned in this article include the buyer’s premium, and all dollar conversions are approximate.
Our man in the room reported that bidding was fast and furious on most lots, with the highly estimated pieces attracting the most attention from a trio of different phone bidders. Trade and collectors in the room competed heavily on the mid and low estimated items, but found the phone bidding competition, which ran many of the most expensive items past their high estimates, to be too much to compete with as prices soared. When all was said and done, many participants left with tired arms and no purchases!
Here is a summary of the 17 R Lalique auction lots that made $10,000 or more:
The first lot to go over $10,000 was Lot 6, the large Sirene Opalescent Bowl. It sold for ₤7,500 ($12,500) against a pre-sale estimate of ₤3,500 to ₤4,500. The vase Salmonides was the next RLalique item to go over 10K. Selling as Lot 17, it made ₤32,450 or about $54,500 against a pre-sale estimate of ₤15,000 to ₤20,000. This would be the second Opalescent Salmonides in as many years to make over $50,000 at South Kensington. A fitting price redux for a striking high relief vase model. It was also the high selling RLalique lot in the sale.
The vase Archers in clear and frosted glass, surprised the crowd as Lot 33, making ₤7,250 or about $12,000 against a pre-sale estimate of ₤3,000 to ₤5,000. It was quickly followed by Lot 34, the Rene Lalique Vase Dryades, which made ₤6,875 or approximately $11,500, exceeding the pre-sale estimate of ₤3,000 to ₤5,000. For “three in a row” over the $10,000 figure, Lot 35, a frosted Bacchantes Vase matched the Archers at ₤7,250 ($12,000).
Two Penthievres were offered as Lots 46 and 47; one amber glass and the other gray glass. They made ₤17,500 ($29,500) and ₤13,750 ($23,000) respectively.
The Rene Lalique Vase Sauterelles, the Grasshopper Vase in Opalescent Glass, always a popular saleroom model when it appears in good order, sold for ₤9,375 ($16,000) against a conservative estimate of ₤4,000 to ₤5,000. A solid result for a classic Rene Lalique Vase design.
Lot 68, the frosted Escargot Vase made ₤6,000 or almost exactly $10,000. The rare Myosotis Vase (#10-918) sold for ₤17,500 ($29,500) as Lot 72, and the Lalique Lamp Paons, Lot 93, sold for ₤28,750, or about $48,000, marking the third highest Lalique sales price.
Lot 101 was the rare Lalique Statue Voilee Mains Jointes in Opalescent Glass (#828). It sold for ₤16,250 ($27,000) against a very low estimate of ₤2,000 to ₤3,000, followed quickly in succession by the frosted Lot 102 Suzanne Statue at ₤6,000 ($10,000) and the Dragonfly Lalique Car Mascot Libellule (#1145) which made ₤10,625 ($18,000) as Lot 103.
Two other notable results preceded the last lot; a Milan Vase in green glass, Lot 112, which made ₤10,625 ($18,000) and a cased yellow Sauge Vase, Lot 115, which sold for ₤10,000 ($17,000).
The last item in the sale was also the 2nd highest R Lalique seller, edging out the Paons Lamp for the runner-up price. It was the R Lalique Vase Languedoc in green glass, which made an all in round number of ₤30,000, or just over $50,000.
If our counting by fingers is correct :), the sale featured a total of 120 Lots, of which only 11 failed to sell. All the passed lots were on the low end of the sale estimates, the highest estimate for any of the passed items being ₤2,500 to ₤3,000, for a take up rate of near 92%. A great sales percentage combined with very strong prices!
The knowledgeable and experienced staff at Christies South Ken did a great job by all reports in selecting and presenting the sale, which could not help but have contributed to the outstanding results. Many times, high take-up rates indicate low estimated goods, but this was not generally the case for this auction. Highly competitive collector bidding for the majority of the expensive lots, and solid trade and local participation throughout, combined to push both the sales percentage and the sales totals to highly successful levels.
Overall, another very bright spot in the increasingly strong performance of the works of Lalique at Auction!
Tags: R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases, Rene Lalique Lighting: R Lalique Lighting Fixtures, Rene Lalique Statues Figurines: R Lalique Statues Posted in R Lalique and Rene Lalique Auction News and Results | No Comments »
Rene Lalique Glass: Lalique Sale At Christies South Kensington Shows Strong R.Lalique Sales Results
May 20th, 2009
Rene Lalique’s R.Lalique Glass Auction Sales Results Continue Strong: At Christie’s South Kensington Semi-Annual Lalique Sale on May 20th, a sale we discussed in this Rene Lalique Auctions Preview (and where you can see more photos of R Lalique items mentioned here), sales prices showed once again that the market for R Lalique is quite strong with firm to high prices achieved throughout the entire range of the works of the great Rene Lalique. Christies offered a small 62 lot selection, of which 44 lots sold, resulting in a take-up rate of 71% by volume. The sale totaled a premium inclusive £265,541 British Pounds, or approximately $415,000 US dollars at today’s estimated 1.56 dollars to the pound exchange rate. The average lot price was over $9400!
High seller was the stunning R Lalique Centerpiece Deux Cavaliers, sold at £55,000, and totaling £67,250 with premium, or around $105,000. Next was the fresh to market unique Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Vase Chardons, making a bid of £40,000 against an estimate of £25,000 to £30,000, for a premium inclusive total of £49,250 or approximately $77,000. Surprisingly in 3rd place, was the final lot in the sale, an R Lalique Opalescent Alicante Vase, estimated at £10,000 to £15,000, but which made a bid price of £25,000, for a premium inclusive total of £31,250 or around $49,000. All three of the preceding lots were reported to be in good condition with only the most minor issues if any. Fourth highest seller was the large and early Lalique Vase Grand Boule Lierre which made a bid of £17,500 with polishing to the base, or a total of £21,875 or around $34,000. Fifth place went to the pair of Rene Lalique Grand Depot Lamps at £14,000/£17,500/$27,500, followed in sixth place by a good looking yellow amber R Lalique Tourbillons Vase at £11,000/£13,750/$21,500.
The top six lots accounted for all in total prices of £162,500/£200,875/$313,500 or roughly just over 75% of the total pounds or dollars of the sale. After these six lots prices dropped off substantially, as these six were the only lots making more than £10,000 or $10,000. The next highest selling prices were £5000 with premium for a Rene Lalique Aigrettes Vase and £4750 all-in for an opalescent R Lalique Ceylon vase with seemingly minor issues.
Only two of the hoped for high selling lots failed to find new homes; a wonderful looking R Lalique Paons Lamp estimated at £35,000-£40,000, and the R Lalique Chandelier Hirondelles, estimated at £20,000-£25,000.
There was also strength in the middle market as well, with an opalescent Spirales Vase making an all-in £2,500, an opalescent Rampillon making an all-in £1,375, and the seal cachet Deux Danseuses making an all-in £3,000.
All in all, a very strong sale put together by Department Head Joy McCall and the rest of the highly competent (helpful and friendly!) staff at Christies South Kensington. It follows on the heals of several solid to strong performances for the works of Rene Lalique at auction around the world this Spring. And of course it’s great news that Christies continues these longstanding and highly successful dedicated semi-annual Lalique Sales, even as the major auction houses make adjustments and consolidations in other areas due to the current economic climate.
Complete results can be found at the Christie’s website.
Tags: R Lalique Cire Perdue And Rene Lalique Cire Perdue, R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases, Rene Lalique Lighting: R Lalique Lighting Fixtures Posted in R Lalique and Rene Lalique Auction News and Results | No Comments »
Lalique Sale At Christies South Kensington: The Smallest Amount of R.Lalique At This Auction In Memory
May 2nd, 2009
Lalique: The Catalogue For The Semi-Annual Sale Of The Works Of The Great Rene Lalique (with some modern Cristal Lalique thrown in) At Christies South Kensington On May 20th Is Now Online: Lalique at Christies South Kensington will have the smallest number of lots in recent memory and likely in the history of this R Lalique auction sale mainstay. The mix of 62 offerings contains several noteworthy items. In addition, all but half a dozen of the 62 lots were produced during the lifetime of Rene Lalique and all but two are original Rene Lalique designs. Top estimated lots are the Rene Lalique Cire Perdue Vase Chardons carrying an estimate of £25,000 to £30,000 British Pounds; the Rene Lalique Peacock Lamp Paons, a wonderful R Lalique design estimated at £35,000 to £40,000; the huge and striking Rene Lalique table centerpiece Deux Cavaliers, estimated at £40,000 to £60,000; the large R Lalique Hirondelles Lighting Fixture estimated at £20,000 to £25,000; and the great early Rene Lalique Vase Grande Boule Lierre, carrying a £20,000 to £30,000 estimate. There’s a furniture specialist in London working for Christies that can tell you a great story about a drive thru the Australian countryside after leaving a house inspection meant to look at furniture, but instead departing with an R.Lalique Grande Boule Lierre Vase belted into the passenger seat for the ride back to the office!
Of course the most attractive lots are not always the most expensive, depending on your tastes and R Lalique collecting interests. For example, there is a great Tananarive Enameled Covered Box. There is also the classy Deux Danseuses Cachet, and a pair of wonderful, almost Frank Lloyd Wright (who’s southwestern desert seat, Taliesin West, is but a stone’s throw from the ancestral home of RLalique.com) style Grand Depot Lamps! All three of these are amazing R Lalique lots in their own right, though they don’t command the prices of some of the items previously mentioned.
The sale is notable not just for small numbers but also for the lack of colored R Lalique items. There’s an R.Lalique Tourbillons Vase in yellow/amber glass, an R.Lalique Bacchantes Vase in Gray Glass, the R.Lalique Vase Albert in Topaz Glass, as well as a Topaz Coq Nain R Lalique Mascot, a single lot containing the R Lalique Seal and Ashtray (Cachet and Cendrier) Lapin in Topaz, and the Blue Glass R.Lalique Pendant Serpent. That is all the colored glass in the sale. Thankfully, gray and topaz are considered colors; else we’d have only 2 colored R.Lalique lots to discuss instead of 6! That is less than 10% of the sale, and of course, it’s a 6, not a 26 or a 36 or a 46. Rene Lalique colored vases and other colored production pieces are in great demand and short supply, and this line-up is just another indicator of the difficulty in obtaining great colored RLalique items.
With the smaller numbers, some areas of Rene Lalique collecting are almost totally absent. Lalique perfume bottles, Lalique statues and Lalique car mascots are few or non-existent among the offerings. But as in many R Lalique Auctions, vases are the most prevalent offering. Roughly 60% of the lots in this sale are vases.
You can check out the Lalique Sales catalogue at the Christie’s website!
And also, don’t forget to keep us in mind here at RLalique.com if you require assistance or consulting on any or all of the items in this sale, or any other sales listed in our Rene Lalique Auctions Worldwide Section. You can find out the details of our buyer consulting services on our Rene Lalique Consulting Page.
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