First Dedicated Sale Since Pioneering Days of the 1980s
Bonhams is to hold a sale dedicated entirely to the works of René Lalique. It will take place on 16 November at its Bond Street Headquarters in London.
René Lalique ‘Boule de Gui’ 1922
In the 1980s, Bonhams pioneered Lalique sales in the UK and they became an established feature of the London auction calendar. The sales stopped in the early 1990s as younger collectors became more attracted to post-war glass but the economic downturn has focused attention on the staying power of Lalique’s designs once more.
There will be around 200 lots in the sale including vases, mascots, perfume bottles, desk sets and clocks. One of the highlights is likely to be a very rare Lalique hanging lamp kept in a garage in Yorkshire for a number of years and estimated at £10,000-15,000.
The lamp was made in around 1925, is in perfect condition and very unusually, has all its original features. The lamp is a highly complex work of interlocking pieces and very few of them were ever made. It is decorated with mistletoe motifs highlighted in blue. Although many Lalique objects had a coloured wash applied to the background, the colours often faded or disappeared altogether either through natural wear and tear or because the owners disliked them. It is therefore, extremely rare to find a piece of this type in its original colours.
