Five to buy from a colourful Lalique single owner collection
25 January 2023 The Lalique in Colour: A Private Collection auction held by Lyon & Turnbull in London on February 2 will celebrate colour in all its magnificent spectrum of shades.
Highlights include the rare Tortues vase in a stunning butterscotch colourway. It is decorated with a conjoining patchwork of convex turtles with shells modelled in low-relief. Designed in 1926, the 27cm high vase is estimated at £30,000-50,000 at Lyon & Turnbull. Bid for the Lalique Tortues vase via thesaleroom.com.
With estimates from £300 to £50,000, there are 150 lots in a rainbow palette of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and amethyst (not quite indigo and violet), as well as black, smoky and clear items. The focus of the collection is on jewellery, scent bottles, boxes, cendriers, seals and vases.
René Lalique (French 1860-1945) achieved this incredible range of colour in his glass through constant experimentation. He had begun creating coloured glass for his jewellery in the last decade of the 19th century. He owned a furnace in which he trialled possibilities.
Throughout his life he kept pushing the boundaries to conceive great masterpieces – aesthetic works of art of technical virtuosity and always finished to the highest standard.
Lyon & Turnbull’s Design Department introduced Lalique as a new biannual sale category in April 2021. Senior specialist Joy McCall heads these sales as she previously did at Christie’s, London for many years.
Shown here are five ideas on what to buy at the Lalique in Colour: A Private Collection auction (including the vase pictured top).
Flock to Lalique pigeons
The scarce Lalique Pigeons vase in an uncommon pale blue colour has appropriately subtle grey staining that highlights the birds perched on the branches. Standing 13cm high, it is guided at £4000-6000 by Lyon & Turnbull. You can view the Lalique Pigeons vase on thesaleroom.com.
Tempting in turquoise
The Lyon & Turnbull sale offers models in a range of colourways that form stunning groups when assembled together. Six different coloured Formose vases; seven distinct Gui vases and five contrasting Moissac vases are included in the auction. Different colours command different prices essentially based on rarity. In some cases very few pieces are known to exist in a given colour. Lyon & Turnbull specialist McCall had not seen another Moissac vase in turquoise apart from this one here, designed in 1927, 13cm high. It is estimated at £2000-3000. Check thesaleroom.com to view the Lalique Moissac vase.
Milky blue masterpiece
The sale includes examples of Lalique’s famous opalescent glass, an example of which is the Borromée vase. This milky-blue colour was achieved by the addition of antimony or arsenic and also by controlling the cooling times of the molten glass. The 23cm high example offered by Lyon & Turnbull, dating to 1928, is estimated at £4000-6000. The Lalique Borromée vase is available on thesaleroom.com.
Shimmer winner
Lalique achieved a particular luminosity to his pieces of jewellery by setting clear and frosted glass against coloured foil-backings. The Tête mirrored pendant from 1919, 8cm high, shimmers against the electric blue in the mount. It is estimated at £600-800 by Lyon & Turnbull. Bid on the Lalique Tête mirrored pendant using thesaleroom.com.
