René Lalique
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a "Vitesse" sculpture / car mascot, Art Déco, France post 1929.
Moulded opalescent glass, signed R. LALIQUE FRANCE. Height 18,7 cm. Black marble base with traces of a paper label, 11,3 x 11 cm, height 7 cm.
The marble base with chips.
Provenance
Possibly formerly in the Collection of André Surmain, Paris.
Christie's, "20th Century Decorative Art", sale 1089, Geneva, 12 May 1991, lot no 123.
Literature
Félix Marcilhac, "R. Lalique, Catalogue raisonné de l'oevre de verre", Les éditions de l'amateur, Paris 1994, see the model illustrated p 503, nr 1160.
Patricia Bayer & Mark Waller, "The Art of René Lalique", Wellfleet Press 1988, compare no 154, Vitesse car mascot, probably with the same marble stand, illustrated from the Collection André Surmain, Paris.
More information
The model was designed in 1929, not produced after 1947.
Designer
René Lalique was a French jeweller and glass artist who established his own workshop in 1885. Around the turn of the century, his production mostly consisted of exquisite jewellery in sophisticated Art Nouveau style. From around 1920, René Lalique transitioned to creating art glass. Lalique's glass pieces are mould-blown with naturalistically decorations of plants, women, and animals in a well-balanced harmony. Besides art glass, Lalique also manufactured perfume bottles, lamps, and glassware. The factory remains active to this day.
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