Lyon & Turnbull’s October 31st Lalique sale included three highly desirable pieces made using the cire perdue (or lost wax) technique. In contrast to René Lalique’s (1860-1945) production line moulded glass made in multiples large or small, his cire perdue works are typically unique.
As the process involves creating a model in wax that melts as molten glass is poured into the mould, cire perdue glass is characterised by the absence of mould marks and often irregular and textured surfaces punctuated by lines caused by cooling. Typically, fingerprints are also visible, providing a direct link to the artist.
Between 1913 and 1932, Lalique (with the input of the sculptor Maurice Bergelin) executed nearly 650 glass vases, bowls and decorative objects using this technique. Occasionally half a dozen casts might be made, but most objects were one-offs.
Creative
The three lots cire perdue here were topped by a 13cm green stained covered jar modelled as a frog atop garlands of aquatic plants. Grenouille Six Guirlandes De Granines dated to 1921 more than doubled the estimate at £70,200.
A 14cm sepia stained Masque De Gorgone vase designed in 1933 sold for £35,200 while the 17cm vases titled Quatre Branches Lierre En Creux Et En Relief designed in 1923 made £40,200.
Another piece in this 177-lot sale that vividly displayed Lalique’s creative process was a 47cm plaster and wire maquette used in the production of a figural model known as Bacchus Enfant. Designed in 1920 this would have been one of several preparatory maquettes made for the finished group that was intended to be the centrepiece for the Bacchus Enfant table exhibited at the Musée des Arts Dècoratifs in 1933. A photograph showing the piece is in Felix Marcilhac’s Lalique catalogue raisonne (2011). It sold at £12,600.
Among the rarest of production line Lalique models is the Hibou inkwell designed in 1912. One of only two inkwells that were made in black glass (the other was the Biches design from the same year), it is one of only three known: one in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, the other offered for sale at Sotheby’s, New York in 2016. It was expected to bring £20,000-30,000 and sold for £37,700 – a record for a Lalique inkwell at auction
Two other inkwells bought muscular prices. Possibly also designed in 1912, a previously unknown Faunes Caryatides Et Masques model in clear, frosted and sepia stained glass brought £12,600. While this piece does not appear in Marcilhac’s catalogue raisonne, the faun heads strongly resemble two similar jewellery pieces designed in 1912: the Faune pattern brooch and the Faune choker.
Multiples
Designed in 1920, the Serpents pattern inkwell in amber glass hammered for £11,088 against an estimate of £3000-5000 – a record price for this model.
The appeal of vibrantly coloured or opalescent glass helps explain why two apparently similar items can be priced quite differently. Lalique made some of his most popular designs in multiple different colours. Here there were three versions of the 1920 Milan vase, the example in a blue-green stained glass sold for £3,024, another in emerald green bringing £6,300 and the most desirable in a rare cobalt blue sold at for £10,080.
Specialist Joy McCall commented on the success of the sale: “Lyon & Turnbull was once again in the privileged position of being able to offer cire perdue lots for sale and these realised the highest prices in the sale along with the Hibou inkwell that I believe has achieved a record price. There was good interest in the room as well as online and on the telephone. It was a sale that saw buying from Europe, America, Asia and Australasia as well and from the UK.”
Lalique
31st October 2024
Live from The Mall Galleries, London
View catalogue online here
About Lyon & Turnbull
Operating since 1826, Lyon & Turnbull are one of the UK’s premier fine art and antiques auctioneers. The company’s venues in London and Glasgow complement the historic Georgian headquarters in Edinburgh. Hosting over 45 specialist auctions per year across the UK there is always something to see at Lyon & Turnbull: from jewellery and watches to fine furniture; traditional British and European art to Modern & Contemporary stars; European decorative arts and design to fine Asian art from China and Japan. www.lyonandturnbull.com
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