René Lalique

Marie-Claude Lalique, Paris
Thierry de Maigret, Paris, June 30, 2005, lot 99 (purchased privately)

Paul Bayle, "Chez Lalique," L'Art Decoratif, 1905, p. 209 (for a related centerpiece executed in silver)
"The Lalique Exhibition," International Studio, 1905, p. 127 (for a related centerpiece executed in silver)
The Art of René Lalique, London, 1928, p. 7 (for a related statuette)
Catalogue de Verreries de René Lalique, Paris, 1932, pl. 81 (for a related statuette)
Nicholas Dawes, Lalique Glass, New York, 1986, p. 10 (for a related statuette)
Patricia Bayer and Mark Waller, The Art of René Lalique, Edison, NJ, 1988, p. 95 (for a related statuette)

This is a unique piece from Lalique's extraordinary cire perdue oeuvre. In comparison with the published photograph of this piece in the 1977 publication entitled René Lalique, it can be seen that the sculpture does not have the additional band of material at the knee now seen on the piece. This is known to be a restoration executed by the Lalique firm when the piece was still in the collection of Marie Claude Lalique and the restoration was carried our under her close supervision. Further examination reveals that the gray blue color was also heightened at this time. There is evidence of additional prior restoration, which appears visible in the same 1977 illustration, including to the figure's chin and to the drapery at the figure's proper right elbow. There is also a flat facet to the proper right side of her hair which may have been polished. Nevertheless, this is a superb example of Lalique's rarest figural cire perdue masterworks. The present example is one of three known explorations of the female form in this exacting technique. The other two examples have been sold by Sotheby's New York and we are delighted to now to be able to offer the third and final known example. Further details of the other two are available on request.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

After the success and innovations which marked the year of the 'Exposition Universelle' of Paris in 1900, René Lalique organized two exhibitions of his pieces in London: the first one in 1903 at the Crafton gallery and the second one in 1905 at the T. Agnew & Sons gallery.

One of the masterpieces presented to the London public was a silver embossed centre piece with an oval plateau from which emerged water-spouting Tritons, surrounded by a nymph emerging from the billows, her nudity delicately hidden by flowers.  The original model of this sculpture was kept by René Lalique. He wanted to convert this piece into glass, adapting the technique of the investment casting (created by bronze makers) to the technique of the sculpture in the round creating the sculpture 'Figure femme et guirlande de fleurs'.

In 1898, René Lalique installed his glassmaking forge in Clairefontaine, in the park of the 'Chateau de la Voisine', on the edge of the Rambouillet forest. Helped and guided by the famous technician Louis Appert, Lalique experimented and researched the techniques of sculpting glass in the round.  At the time, the risk of breakage was significant, and only twenty percent of these extraordinary and complicated pieces were saved. Their size and the complexity of their shape made them all the more fragile, and few of them survived the fusion process, explaining the small amount of successful production. 

As far as we can remember, the present work has always belonged to Marie-Claude Lalique. She had found it in the casting atelier at the back of her grandfather's house. The studio's high ceiling permitted Lalique to construct a mezzanine, and the steel spiral staircase incorporated the sculpture as a finial. Rescued and restored by Marie-Claude, this sculpture represented, for her, the most important work of her grandfather.

The statue represented here is therefore a unique work. Moulded directly on the original silver centerpiece, its incredibly realistic shape, both sensual and vigorous, allows one to see every detail of the flower petals, of the undulating hair, of the beauty of the face. We can even make out the artist's fingerprints, slightly present in the wax used to surround the model for the glass cast.  This spectacular statue, both light and delicate, perfect in its design and exceptional artistic value, is testimony to Lalique's creativity as a master of glassmaking.

--Felix Marcilhac