LALIQUE: ENAMEL, PÂTE DE VERRE, SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND BROOCH/PENDANT,

CIRCA 1900

Footnotes

René Lalique (1860-1945) was the undisputed master of Art Nouveau jewellery design. Nature was a pivotal theme in his work, his appreciation stemming from time spent sketching in the French countryside during his childhood holidays. His work incorporates botanically correct depictions of plants and flowers, often representing less conventional aspects such as buds, stamens and contorted vines and branches, with a unique focus on the ephemerality of nature with wilting, humble wild flowers or seasonal decay. Here, the use of white anemone flowers, symbols of sincerity and fragility, frame the sapphire, enhancing the quality of this exquisite jewel.

During the 1880's, Lalique worked for various manufacturers and passionately studied sculpture, marrying the daughter of a sculptor in 1890. It was around this time that he undertook experiments in glass, a natural development from his enamelling techniques, and from here his work begins to take on a strongly sculptural form. The pâte de verre, pioneered in the 19th century, is a painstakingly delicate process of cold-moulding glass and later vitrifying it with heat, and yields a uniquely translucent, quasi-ceramic quality, which can later be carved to achieve high definition and fine detail. This incorporation of an intrinsically valueless material into jewels with precious gemstones and metals demonstrates Lalique's desire to create an entirely new kind of jewel.

For a similar example previously sold by Bonhams, please see Lot 20, a pâte de verre and sapphire anemone brooch, from the London Fine Jewellery Sale, 12th December 1997. See also Becker, V., 'The Jewellery of René Lalique', (Goldsmiths Company: 1987), ill.p. 33, 50, 82, 93 for similar examples by Lalique.

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