René Lalique

Michel Philippe, Paris

"Le Salon D'Automne," Mobilier et Décoration, December 1926, pp. 152 and 154 (for a related fruit-motif chandelier displayed at the Salon d'Automne, Paris, 1926)
Tom Gill, ed., Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum:  The Building and Its History, Tokyo, 1987, pp. 16-17 (for the companion chandelier included in the decorations of the Imperial Palace of Asaka Yasubiko, presently in the collection of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum)
Felix Marcilhac, René Lalique:  Maître-Verrier, Paris, 2004, pp. 134 and 667

Overall in very good original condition. This rare chandelier has incredibly commanding scale and presence, and will serve as a stunning and elegant centerpiece in a room. The chromium-plated metal frame is a later addition to the chandelier, as are the four glass and metal cylindrical standards above the fixture. These later elements are executed in a manner consistent with the original design by Lalique and are very well executed. All of the glass panels incorporated in the rectangular chromium-plated metal frame are original. These include the three large relief decorative panels on the underside, and six smaller side panels. Each of the glass panels shows minor surface scratches and minor edge chips and flecks consistent with age and use. The panels also have some scattered air bubble inclusions, as well as some burst air bubbles to the interior surfaces, all inherent in the making. With some occasional mould lines throughout, also inherent in the making. Each of the panels shows minor areas of restoration, including in-fill to minor edge chips. One of the outer decorative panels with four cracks to the glass, the largest measuring approximately 14 inches in the length extending from the outer edge toward the center of the panel. Each of the cracks has been in-filled and stabilized with prior restoration and the panel appears stable. One of these cracks is along the edge of the panel, and therefore concealed by the outer chrome frame. The central decorative panel with a single crack at the edge measuring two inches in length, which has been sensitively restored and stabilized. The central panel with two minor shallow chips to the glass, only one of which is visible along the edge of the frame when the chandelier is installed. The third decorative panel with three losses at the corners, which have been filed down. These do not impact the placement of the panel in the frame, as the frame covers the minor losses. The six side panels all have beveled edges which when installed are concealed by the outer frame. With small chips to the interior of the beveled edges, which and are not visible when the panels are installed. One side panel with a shallow two inch long loss to the beveled edge. Another two panels with two-inch long shallow chips to the exterior of the side panels. (These condition issues are not visible when the panels are installed in the frame.) One side panel with an area of impact with minor adjacent fracturing. This area has been professional stabilized and in-filled with a clear resin. Please contact Sotheby's at 212-606-7170 for detailed images of the piece. Due to the fragile nature and weight of this sculpture, special handling and/or packing may be required during the shipping process. Please inquire directly with the 20th Century Design or Post Sale Services Departments if you have any questions or require assistance regarding the shipping of this item.
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.

Serpents et Caméléons was the first chandelier designed in 1902 by René Lalique for the showroom of his newly built mansion in Paris, cours la Reine, and was carefully hand-crafted, as a piece of jewelry, with finely chased gilt bronze and blown glass.  From 1912 to 1914, the artist created a series of light fixtures celebrating exuberant flora and fauna in an Art Nouveau style. The names of the commercialized models illustrated in the sales catalogue of Lalique certainly demonstrated the naturalistic approach to each creation. There are chrysanthemums, dandelions, petals of Monnaie du Pape, thistle branches, butterflies and snakes, the flora and fauna sometimes accompanied by nude female figures. Chastened designs with more obvious geometric lines characterized the light fixtures designed by the artist after 1920.

The ceiling light Ananas et Grenades (Pineapples and Pomegranates) is part of a series of light fixtures designed during the years 1926-1927 to decorate the palace of Japanese Prince Asaka Yasubiko in Tokyo, which now houses the Teien Museum. After visiting the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs of 1925 and impressed by the modernity of the Lalique display, the Prince commissioned Lalique to design the electric light fixtures for the main rooms of his residence. Designed for the main dining room, Ananas et Grenades is rectangular in shape. Embedded in a nickel-plated steel frame, the pressed molded glass tiles, in white satin matte and gloss finishes, comprise a frame and a central strip of the fruit decoration, and the alternation of flat and high relief surfaces permits a refracted and diffused soft light. Suspended rods made of steel wire, sheathed in glass cylinders, allows one to adjust the height of the plafonnier depending on the height of the ceiling. Similar glass plates decorated with pineapple and pomegranates were used to make smaller square ceiling lights, which were installed in other rooms of the palace.

The records of the glass molds allow us to date with accuracy the manufacture of Ananas et Grenades to February 29, 1929. As usual, for each special order, René Lalique would have had executed two or three copies of the same model, in case the original one intended for its patron arrived broken after transport. The replacements were not commercialized and were not included in the sales catalog of Lalique's glassware. Lalique probably kept one example as a reserve along with some spare parts, while the others were given to family members or discreetly sold to close friends, which is clearly the case with the present lot.

Félix Marcilhac