In my previous article we talked about amazing jewellery by René Lalique, and today we will admire his glass vases.

After Paris exhibition in 1900, René Lalique became internationally famous and commercially successful. He was described with numerous epithets — a fearless experimenter, an outstanding artist, a brilliant designer, the greatest jeweller of our time! People were looking forward to seeing his new collections, and buying jewellery by Lalique was not so easy, because not only lovers of extravagant and fashionable jewellery hunted for them, but also inveterate art collectors. Richest oil tycoon Calouste Gulbenkian bought collections straight away, even before they got to the counter, so Lisbon Museum is indebted to his passion for its impressive collection of rarities by Lalique.

In 1902, René bought an entire building on Cours La Reine, which housed a shop, exhibition hall and living quarters, and this place had been a centre of Parisian jewellery art for a long time. During that time he did not forget about working with glass, continuing his research in a small glass workshop. In 1907, René Lalique presented a series of glass bottles, created for perfume company, his "business neighbour" Francois Coty.

That year was a turning point in René Lalique`s work. His passion for glass and opportunities it provided to make his ideas and dreams come true, made him stop creating jewellery to make perfume bottles, vases and sculptures made of glass.
He packed the most exquisite fragrances by Coty, Worth, D'Orsay, Roger & Gallet in amazing bottles. His workshop created lovely glass gizmos designed for females. Boudoirs and dressing tables of European beauties were filled with jars, powders, bottles, jugs, candlesticks, vases, figurines and lamps by Lalique. The range was strikingly wide, quality and design solutions are impressive and fascinating.

In 1915, René Lalique received a patent to manufacture glass according to "liquid wax" technique, and in 1921, he opened a factory, which implemented pressed glass technology that allowed making inexpensive art objects. All that time, René Lalique never stopped working in the studio, making his own stunning masterpieces. He had a secret, designer technology. I do not know what spells and magic techniques he used, but those items that he made have a magical appeal, unique charm and allure.

The next international Paris exhibition of applied arts opened in 1925, participants and guests were delighted and amazed by the magnificence of the stand, representing Lalique brand. It was impossible take eyes off famous vases, made in liquid wax technique, and glass sculptures fascinated with their inner glow and made a special, mystical impression. The exhibition made Rene a famous glassmaker, who was no less famous than a jeweller.

René Lalique died in 1945, leaving behind a successful business and world-famous Lalique style. His business was successfully continued by his son Mark, and then by his granddaughter Marie-Claude. Now every year Lalique brand produces at least three collections, which are sold out before they come out from the workshops. Most items are created in limited editions of 99 items, and the original form is destroyed with a note — the theme is finished. We, rank and file, can buy such things only at auction and for good money.