Bowl

René Lalique’s (1860-1945) ‘Lys’ patterned coupe is made from opalescent glass. The bowl has a shallow, hemispherical form and is decorated in relief with four stylised fleurs-de-lys flower heads. Manufactured by blowing the glass into a mould, the designer has cleverly integrated internal surface decoration and external form. The bowl’s four feet have been moulded as open flower heads, their petals spreading onto the underside of the bowl.

Engraved on the underside with the inscription: ‘R. Lalique France 382’ in block letters, this model was designed on 24th July 1924 and produced until 28th April 1939. After this date it was not brought back into production. [1] This design was also manufactured in clear glass with a blue stain to the flowers on the base, and in iridescent glass. [2]

Lalique was trained at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (1874-1876) and spent two years at Sydenham School of Art in Crystal Palace, London, before returning to Paris in 1880. Lalique’s exposure to the Arts and Crafts aesthetic in England would inform the development of his Art Nouveau style.

Lalique excelled as a jewellery designer and branched into glass making later in his career. Early glass commissions from Françoise Coty for perfume bottles began in 1908; however, at this time, Lalique’s designs were produced by other glass manufacturers. [3]

Encouraged by these commissions, Lalique rented the Compagnie Générale d’Éléctricité glassworks at Combs-la-Ville near Fountainbleau in 1908, before acquiring this property in 1913. [4] After the First World War (1914-1918), in 1921, Lalique bought a new factory in WIngen-sur-Moder in the Alsace region of, France, and expanded his glass production. [5] It was during this period that Lalique came to specialise in moulded opalescent glass. [6]

Vanessa Tothill, October 2020

[1] Felix Marcilhac , R. Lalique: Catalogue Raisonné De L’Oeuvre De Verre (Paris: Amateur, 2011), No. 382, p. 292.

[2] https://www.vinterior.co/home-decor/kitchenware/bowls/rene-lalique-blue-stained-lys-coupe-designed-1924-marcilhac-382 [accessed 8 October 2020]

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