Posts Tagged ‘Rene Lalique Statues Figurines: R Lalique Statues’
R. Lalique At Christie’s South Kensington: Strong Results!
June 24th, 2015
Christie’s June 16th semi-annual sale of R. Lalique added to what has been a long string of twice yearly solid to stellar performances stretching back for some time. The sale made a premium inclusive* £584,375/$911,625** of which £570,000/$889,000 was for the 91 sold R. Lalique lots, or an average of approximately £6264/$9800 for the R. Lalique.
As is more often the case than not, most of the offered lots were vases (70 of the 128 R. Lalique lots***), and they took up the better part of the high sellers after the top spot. That honor went to the rare model Source De La Fontaine Statue that sold as Lot 50 for £30,000/$47,000.
This shows that the sale had good depth when looked at by prices achieved, as no single lot accounted for even 6% of the sale total.
The next top four prices were all vases (save one item that tied for 5th place) as follows:
2. Lot 67 Perruches Vase Cased White Opalescent £23,750/$37,000
3. Lot 44 Perruches Vase Cased Red £22,500/$35,000
4. Lot 09 Quatre Masques Vase with handle £21,250/$33,000
5. TIE Lot 01 Serpent Vase with heavy patina £20,000/$31,000
5. TIE Lot 06 Firebird Decoration without the original base £20,000/$31,000
The sold percentage by lots was 98/137 or 71.5% overall, and 91/128 or 71% for the R. Lalique.
The opalescent Perruches Vase was a strong price. But one other sale item deserving of special mention was Lot 7, a clear glass Chamois Vase Model No. 1075 shown below.
This would typically be about a £500/$800 vase on a good day.
But with red staining and enamel it made £13,125/$20,500. Ignoring the fact that if the vase were red glass it may not have made that kind of number, somebody got themselves about $20,000 of red paint and enamel (P&E)!
We can’t say for sure if the applied coloring was original or not because we never handled the vase.
However we can say without hesitation that with the high price paid for the P&E, we’ll undoubtedly be seeing more P&E vases with wonderful colors in the future.
That wry**** observation aside, once again Joy McCall and her great staff came through with a good selection of items including a lot of colored glass vases. Their presentation was top notch, the customer service was high level, and the promotion was thorough. The result was another good day for Christie’s and another great day for R. Lalique.
* All sale figures used are premium inclusive.
** All dollar amounts are based on the estimate of $1.56 per British Pound and are rounded.
*** 2 of the R. Lalique lots were only partly R. Lalique.
**** “Wry” is dry and sometimes ironic humor. Consider this from actor Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer talking to a bad guy on the American T.V. Series 24 – “The only reason that you’re conscious right now is because I don’t want to carry you.” Of course he might not have been joking. Interestingly, Kiefer’s full name is Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland. Aspirations of royalty? His dad is the great Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, who is kindly remembered for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the original 1970 movie Mash. Of course 45 years later, Donald is most famous for his role in the Hunger Games movies. However for true aficionados of mindless entertainment (count this writer all-in for that), his most important and lifetime achievement role (think Charlton Heston as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 movie The Ten Commandments) was in the 1978 National Lampoon movie Animal House. Most people I talk to (an admittedly and curiously narrow group) have seen that movie at least a dozen times.
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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.
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Rene Lalique Sales Prices: R. Lalique Upward Price Trend Continues at Christies Lalique Auction
December 11th, 2010
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%.
Top 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.
Note: 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.
Next 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.
Notable 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.
In 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.
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Rene Lalique Antiques at Heritage: R. Lalique Sales Rate Near 100% – R. Lalique Sales Total Near $870,000
December 5th, 2010
Rene 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%.
Total 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.
Two 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.
Is 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.
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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).
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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.
The 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.
The 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.
Rounding 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.
The 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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Rene Lalique Auction Results for R Lalique Glass at Heritage Auction In New York Are Strong
December 11th, 2009
Rene Lalique Auction results were strong once again, this time at Heritage Auctions In New York City on November 10th.
The Rene Lalique lots in the Heritage Sale (which also included some modern Lalique Crystal pieces) totaled 108 items, of which 90 sold, for a take-up rate of 83%. Total sales for R Lalique including the 19.5% buyer’s premium were $487,410, making the average sold lot price $5,416. This total includes two lots of R Lalique and related books and other publications, which bring the average down slightly.
As is typical, the great Rene Lalique Vases led the way both for high prices and for total dollar sales. High seller by nearly a 50% margin over the 2nd place lot(s), was the stunning Rene Lalique Deco Vase Serpent in Amber Glass, which brought a premium inclusive price of $47,800.
Four other vases tied for 2nd place at $31,070 all-in: Borromee in Blue Glass, the large Palestre Vase in clear and frosted glass covered with gray patina, and the deco black enameled vases Tourbillons and Oranges, both in clear and frosted glass. 6th place in the money department went to the Rene Lalique Car Mascot Victoire that made $26,290 including the premium.
Things dropped off a bit after that, with the next 5 high sellers making between $13,000 and $15,000 all-in. This group was a mixed bunch consisting of the vases Milan in Green Glass and Aigrettes in Olive Green Glass, the car mascot Longchamps A, the luminaire Tulipes (a lighted plaque on a metal stand), and the statue Grand Nue Longue Cheveux Socle Lierre (Grand Nue).
All told and all-in there were 12 lots above $10,000 accounting for $278,435 or about 56 percent of the total dollars for the 92 sold lots, with the 12th high seller being Lot No. 1, the rare Lezards Perfume bottle, which made $11,950.
The sale total for Rene Lalique at this Heritage Sale would place this auction third in the year 2009 for total R Lalique sales at a single auction. First place goes to the Lalique Jewelry (and Lalique Chalice) sold at Christies New York on October 21st where just six lots made about $1,778,000. Second place would be the November 11th Lalique Auction at Christies South Kensington in London where 120 lots (of which 11 did not sell) made a sale total for R Lalique of about $750,000.
All-in-all a great result and another in a long string of strong Rene Lalique Auction results showing the depth of popularity for the works of Rene Lalique as they continue to perform well worldwide at auction.
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Rene Lalique Auctions: 100 Rene Lalique Lots At Heritage Auction Sale on December 10th In New York City
November 25th, 2009
Lalique Auctions are finishing the year on a strong note with a string of great Rene Lalique auctions results leading into the holiday period as we close out 2009.
As of this writing 82 different auction sales around the world featuring the work of Rene Lalique are listed in the Rene Lalique Auctions Worldwide Section of the site to occur between now and year-end. The largest of these upcoming sales is by far the sale of Rene Lalique glass and other objects put together by Lalique Expert Nicholas Dawes in his new role as a consignment director for Heritage Auctions of Dallas, which is now the third largest auction house in the world (measured by sales volume).
Heritage and Mr. Dawes have put together a wide-ranging selection of Rene Lalique pieces represented by 100 RLalique lots to be auctioned in a New York City sale on December 10th.
Notable among the offerings are the famous Rene Lalique Vases that make up nearly half the lots. The Heritage sampling includes 3 colored Perruches Vases (the great looking red one is pictured here in case you missed it :), a Borromee Vase in the highly desirable “Borromee Blue” color, two colored Archers Vases, the stunning Amber Serpent Vase, and matched pair of the rare 1911 designed vase Frise Aigles. There is also a great selection of smaller colored vases including a teal Gui, a deep green Courlis, and two different colored Moissac vases.
Rene Lalique Statues is another strong section of the sale, featuring both yellow and opalescent Suzannes, an Opalescent Thais, an opalescent Moyenne Voilee, a Grand Nue Lierre and others.
Rene Lalique Perfume Bottles include a rare Lezards bottle, and Lalique’s Car Mascots include a good-looking pair of Longchamps (one of each version) and a Vitesse.
Rene Lalique Clocks are represented by the clock Inseparables, and there are also drawings, jewelry, tableware, boxes, seals, ashtrays, and an inkwell. There is something for just about every different collecting area of the works of the great Rene Lalique.
One notable tableware item is the rare Coupe Sirenes. This is great design that most collectors will not see in their lifetime. As always though, carefully check out the condition of any item, including this one, before bidding.
All told, a near tour de force of the commercial production works of Rene Lalique with a high percentage of rare colored pieces, highly desirable collector lots, some hard to find items, and a few unique drawings and a great mirror in the mix to complete a well rounded and high quality sale.
Contact information for the sale and a link to the Heritage website can be found in our Rene Lalique Auctions Section.
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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!
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Rene Lalique Fountain Statue: An R Lalique Pigeon! Is this Lalique Glass Bird For The Birds?
November 4th, 2009
Rene Lalique Pigeon Statue From A Fountain! A Lalique Glass Big Bird!
An apparently surviving Rene Lalique statue likely from a long ago disassembled fountain that once occupied a roundabout intersection on the Champs Elysées in Paris has appeared at auction. An R Lalique Bird so rare, it is not shown in the Catalogue Raisonne (except in a photo of the fountain) even as a drawing; though the mate to this bird, the head down pigeon does appear as a drawing in the Catalogue. See page 871 of the 2004 edition.
The R Lalique Art Deco style Pigeon is quite large, measuring 35 cm in length and 22 cm high.
The Pigeon fountain element has damage to the base that attached it to its original resting place, but otherwise, seems in pretty good shape from the detailed photos provided by the seller.
Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original 170399426823 listing online. You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.
Might be worth taking a flyer** at the current price of around $1140, and maybe some distance north of that amount as well. 🙂 As usual, check it out and satisfy yourself before bidding, not just on the piece, but on the terms (a big bird for international shipping that won’t fly itself to your house)! See our Rene Lalique Auction Buyers Guide for extensive details on bidding at auctions!
We’ve listed this bird in the Rene Lalique Auctions Worldwide section here on the website. And of course, the out of print and extremely hard to find R.Lalique Catalogue Raisonne is available in the Rene Lalique Books and Library section.
Leave it to the great Rene Lalique to create a pigeon covered fountain that is not also covered by the mess!
* The expression “For The Birds”, also “That’s For The Birds”, and the even more emphatic “Strictly For The Birds”, is an American expression that has not caught on elsewhere. The earliest records of it are from the mid 1940’s, being used as a slang in the US Military! The expression indicates something that is meaningless or worthless, something for gullible people.
** The expression “Take a Flyer” is a mainly American and British expression that means: Take a chance!
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Rene Lalique Auctions: Rene Lalique Religious Design AND The Star Wars Vase Appears! Our Lalique Cup Runneth Over!
October 9th, 2009
Rene Lalique at Auction: Unique and Amazing Items are coming up at auction around the world in the next few weeks. There are enough really high-end lots appearing, that you might overlook some of the run of the mill great and rare (as opposed to unique and amazing) pieces. We thought we’d do a brief wrap-up of a few of the highlights and bright spots, all of which (and more) can be found in the Rene Lalique Auctions Worldwide Section here at the Worldwide Gathering Place!
On October 27th, at Sotheby’s London, it’s hard to get excited about the rare Oreilles Gravees Decanter or the Motif Decoratif Deux Perruches, both of which are standout lots in their own right, because of the great Deux Cigales Vase on offer. Thought to be unique (especially if you are the owner or the auction house), this 32 centimeter vase is likely the same one formerly owned by Glen and Mary Lou Utt. They even found a place in their seminal work Lalique Perfume Bottles to show a photo of the vase!
And in case you didn’t notice the obvious, have you figured out yet where the design for the outfit for Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies came from? Heck talkies* weren’t even developed until the early 1920’s, and here, around 1912, the great Lalique already had the main costume design for a series of outer space high tech flicks that wouldn’t come along for more than half a century after that. Lalique was a true visionary that understood the future in ways scholars and scientists are just beginning to realize (and see Rene Lalique: Inventor of the Satellite Dish)! Maybe the fact of his costume design prowess is buried somewhere in the credits at the end of all the Star Wars movies?
Anyway, if you’re serious about Rene Lalique vases, or if you just worship the work of the great Lalique, then this vase is nearly a religious experience. You might say Amazing Vase instead of Amazing Grace. Which brings us to Christie’s in New York on October 21st.
At Christies, amongst a few pieces of Lalique’s jewelry (trinkets really :), is the incredible religious motif “Art Nouveau Ivory, Gold And Enamel Chalice”! This chalice was exhibited both at the Musée des Art Décoratifs in the big retrospective exhibition in 1991-1992, and also in the fabulous US exhibition The Jewels of Lalique which was held in three locations in 1998, including the Cooper-Hewitt in New York, and the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. The chalice (as described by Christies) features white robed Apostles and seated robed worshipers. A jewel of a chalice to put it mildly. Not the top money lot in the sale by far, but an amazing example of the work of Lalique. And yes, there are also the 5 lots of Lalique’s jewelry, with estimates ranging from a low of $15,000, up to the $500,000 range. Great stuff. See more Rene Lalique Religious pieces, or more Rene Lalique Jewellery sales.
The foregoing items might cause you to overlook some more typical rare and good looking pieces that we also thought to bring to your attention. In Florida on October 21st, what looks like a fantastic nearly white opalescent Thais statue is coming up at a local Florida auction house. Also on the 21st in East Sussex in the UK at Gorringes, the Veilleuse Brule-Parfums Perfume Burner Roses and the wood and glass box Chrysanthemes. In France on the 26th of October, the Perruches Bowl in mint green opalescent glass! And not big money, but as cool as anything R Lalique; at Christies London on October 20th, the pair of Libellule Knife rests, one of Lalique’s most creative tableware designs, and nearly impossible to find in good condition (check these and anything else out for yourself of course :).
And a few decorative arts auctions with good numbers of Rene Lalique auction items and several outstanding pieces: In Germany at Quittenbaum on the 19th of this month there are 30 scattered lots, many appearing to be of good quality, such as the Coral Rouge Perfume Bottle (with original box) for Forvil. In Bordeaux France on the 15th, a great selection of rare perfume bottles, and at Woolley and Wallis in the UK on the 14th, the vases Pensees with black enamel, and Papillons amongst others.
And to think we have not even reached the major December decorative arts sales. As of this writing, we have 56 auctions containing hundreds of R Lalique items from all over the globe listed in the Rene Lalique Auctions Section. Yes both literally and figuratively our cup doth runneth over!**
A short note that the Rene Lalique Catalogue Books for both exhibitions mentioned above can be found in the R Lalique Books and Library Section here at RLalique.com. The Utt’s book Rene Lalique Perfume Bottles is also available in the Library. All three books are quite extensive and contain both scholarly analysis and historical information, along with tons of photos of wonderful Rene Lalique items.
* Talkies are movies with synchronized sound. The first feature length movie that was a true talkie was a classic: The Jazz Singer in 1927!
** “…… my cup runneth over” is from Psalms 23:5, The King James Version of the Bible.
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Rene Lalique Christ Statue: R Lalique Religious Plaque – A Rene Lalique Crucifix At Auction
September 21st, 2009
A Rene Lalique Christ Statue in the form of a Lalique crucifix plaque in wooden base has appeared at auction with a $9.99 starting price and no reserve.
This R Lalique Statue of Christ, in the form of a crucifix, is catalogue raisonne number #1212 in the wooden base version. It’s a good-size statue, measuring about 10 inches in height overall including base. The seller, with 100% feedback, provides free shipping in the U.S., and represents the condition as follows:
This is In very nice shape no scratches the wood base has minor paint loss due to age, and there is one minor flea bite on the bottom probably due to being pulled from the wood base.
The seller has also included extensive photos so you can judge for yourself the condition details of both the statue and the base. The wood base is likely not the preferred display method for may owners due to the tendency of wood bases to show wear and tear over the years. However there is a certain period and historical charm to have an original well-worn base sporting a statue in near perfect (according to the seller of course:) condition.
A nice R Lalique glass item to purchase and donate to a local church for their own use or as a raffle item, or as an amazing gift to the right person, or of course to add to your collection of the works of the great Lalique. There are sufficient numbers of religious objects designed by Rene Lalique, especially representations of Christ, that they comprise a collecting field in their own right. They are also of interest to collectors of religious artwork and glass decorative objects that collect a variety of makers in addition to the works of Lalique.
Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original 120471841877 listing online. You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image. You can also see this great Rene Lalique Statue listed in the Rene Lalique Auctions Worldwide Section, where you will also find additional works of Rene Lalique at Auction all across the globe.
December 3rd, 2009 Update: Switched Item Link To Cached Image Version
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Goodbye Statue – Hello Clock! A Grande Nue Statue Is Sold – A Grand New Item Appears. R Lalique Auction News. Update – Clock makes $9375 including premium against the $1000 to $1500 estimate!
January 26th, 2009
A couple of R Lalique comings and goings to mention to our readers. First, the Rene Lalique Grande Nue Statue that appeared this past week in France, and which was listed in our R Lalique at Auction Worldwide Section, was reported by the auction house Marseille-Encheres, to have sold for 15,000 Euros, or around $20,000 US dollars. A nice result for what looked from the photo to be a great statue. One of Rene Lalique’s finest designs says the Oracle. As always, we hope the buyer (and other bidders) told them that they saw the great statue here, at RLalique.com.
And on a separate auction news note, appearing at Freemans in Philadelphia on Friday January 30th this week as lot Number 772, is an unsigned Rene Lalique Clock; the R Lalique Deux Figurines Clock on base estimated at only $1000 to $1500. The Rene Lalique Clock Deux Figurines was sold both before and after WWII and was discontinued in 1951 according to the Catalogue Raisonne. Freemans says it’s in the “Lalique Style”, which it definitely is:). Of course as always, check it out for yourself. They have a great set of photos we think they will be happy to email you. If you call Freemans, ask for Doug Girton and don’t forget to let him know we sent you
By telling auction houses that you saw their items here, it makes it a lot easier for us to get you information on upcoming Rene Lalique related pieces. As auction houses find that spreading the word here at RLalique.com results in serious R Lalique bidders, we discover a lot more information in our inbox that we didn’t have to go looking for! And that info goes directly to the benefit of anyone following these pages that is interested in buying R Lalique.
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Grande Ovale Tete Penchee Opalescent R Lalique Statue Makes $29,000 in Rural Ohio
December 10th, 2008
The Grande Ovale Tete Penchee Opalescent R Lalique Statue that appeared at Forsythes’ Auctions in Russellville, Ohio sold to an Ebay bidder for a strong $24,500 plus 18% buyer’s premium on December 6th, bringing the total sales price to $28,910. A great looking and rare statue nearly 15 inches high, the final result well exceeded the wide $8000 to $15,000 estimate. As we see from time to time on R Lalique glass items, the statue was signed with the wrong model number, having been signed 828 instead of 827 after the R. Lalique signature on the underside. Of course, as we may have mentioned previously, a correct R Lalique item authenticates the signature, not the other way around. In this case, it would not have mattered a whit if the statue was unsigned! You have to love it when great R Lalique pieces like this appear in the heartland of the United States in places like Russellville. We looked it up, and according to the last Census, in the year 2000 Russellville had a population of 453 people in 190 households. The entire village comprises .8 square miles. A great place for a great R Lalique result. We hope the buyer remembered to tell Forsythes what is becoming an increasingly familiar phrase at auction houses around the world: I saw it at RLalique.com!
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