René Lalique

Chrystal Galleries, Boulder, Colorado

Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1987

Félix Marcilhac, René Lalique 1860-1945: Maître-Verrier, Analyse de l'Œuvre et Catalogue Raisonné, Paris, 2004, pp. 99 and 497, no. 1122

John L. Zolomij, Lalique: Automobile Mascots, Philadelphia, 2002, pp. 21-22

Phil Patton, "Lalique’s Glass Menagerie, Too Cool to Ride on Radiators," The New York Times, March 2, 2012

Following developments in automobile engineering in the 1910s and 1920s, car mascots or hood ornaments began to gain popularity. These accessories served a dual purpose: they covered radiator caps, which in early motorcars projected visibly above the engine hood, and they enabled car companies to individualize their vehicles and promote their corporate emblems. In 1925 French automaker André Citroën commissioned René Lalique to design a mascot for his 5CV car model, one of the earliest mass-produced cars in Europe. The “Cinq Chevaux” mascot depicts five overlapping horses rearing on their hindlegs, representing the car’s strong horsepower engine ready to race into action. The ornament’s evocation of speed and dynamism demonstrates Lalique’s virtuosity as a glassmaker and succinctly captures the spirit of the machine age.