France, Designed by René Lalique, Circa 1938
Signed 'R.LALIQUE' (on the base)
5.75 in (14.5 cm) high
5.75 in (14.3 cm) diameter


"Glass is a marvellous material."- René Lalique, 1925

Lalique is a French glassware design house founded by artist, master ceramist and jewellery designer René Lalique. One of the best-known designers of the Art Nouveau period, Lalique's glass designs often included dancing nymphs, fish, dragonflies, and foliage, typical of this period. His unique style played with the contrast between clear and frosted glass, sometimes embellished with a patina, enamel or stained glass.

Before he started his own business in 1887, Lalique designed jewellery for prestigious houses such as Cartier and Boucheron. In a time when the emphasis was on the quantity of precious stones in a jewellery piece, Lalique, who was fascinated with the natural world, created nature-inspired pieces depicting animals and the female form. In 1888, he registered his "RL" stamp and engraved the unique pieces created in his workshop with these letters.

In the next few years, Lalique had started experimenting with glassware, having already used enamel and glass with gold and precious stones in his jewellery designs. In 1907, Lalique met the famous perfumer François Coty, and created ornate perfume bottles for his early brands such as L'Effleur and Ambre Antique, and developed a technique that allowed mass production of glass bottles. By 1921, Lalique had fully devoted himself to glassmaking, and his efforts took him to Alsace in eastern France, which had a strong and historic glassmaking tradition. Here he established the Verrerie d'Alsace glassworks factory at Wingen-sur-Moder in Alsace.

After Lalique's death in 1945, his son Marc took over and the company transitioned from producing its famous Lalique glass to crystal. It was named Cristallerie Lalique in 1962, and is now the world's only Lalique factory.

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