With a crowd that was wall to wall and out the door, Ebay live bidding available, and half dozen phone lines in play, the Rene Lalique 1919 Cire Perdue covered vase Frise Chiens was sold today at James D. Julia auction house in Maine. This one of a kind Cire Perdue, which was the pictured highlight item on our RLalique.com Home Page for the RLalique At Auction Section during the past 10 days, was hammered down for $52,000 plus a minimum buyer’s premium of 15% or $7,800 for a total sale price of $59,800 against a pre sale estimate of $25K to 30K. The buyer’s premium and total sale price may be higher than stated here, depending on the buyer’s payment method. The 5 and 1/2 inch vase showed several small chips to the top rim of the vase and the edge of the cover, as well as a larger chip which removed a “Chien’s” (dog’s) head (see photo below). This vase had previously been shown in the Catalogue Raisonne only by the original Rene Lalique drawing, a photo of it not having been previously available. All things considered, a good price for a one of kind unique work of art by the great Rene Lalique. And we can only hope that the buyer remembered to tell them what is becoming an increasingly familiar phrase at auction houses around the world: “I saw it at RLalique.com!”

For more information, see the Rene Lalique Biography section on Lalique Cire Perdue.