March 12th, 2011
Rene Lalique’s star once again shined brightly in New York, this time at Sotheby’s 20th Century Design Sale on March 10th. Sotheby’s offered up 15 great lots including a rare collection of five seldom seen Veilleuses, as well a few hanging light fixtures, a couple of nice vase lots, two attractive plates, one cachet, and two lots of architectural panels.
 There were three hanging light fixtures: the half bowl shaped Charmes with four matching glass plaques incorporated into the hanging cords, the rare Madrid Chandelier, and the large Fougeres Chandelier. The Madrid (pictured below) was the high seller for Lalique with an all-in price of $46,875 (all prices in this article include buyers premium), the Fougeres made $31,250, and the Charmes made a very strong $16,250.
For the vases, Sotheby’s presented a gray glass Bacchantes which tied for second high seller for Lalique at $34,375, and a rare Deux Anneaux Lezards Vase, an elegant and tall clear vase with hanging lizard decorated side rings, which made $31,250.
The plates were composed of the attractive though frequently seen Calypso, a nearly 15 inch wide plate which made $3,750 as the second lowest selling Lalique item, and the enameled rare Souris plate of nearly identical size which brought $18,750.
Both architectural panel lots were of the “Fleurs” design; each included more than one panel, with both lots presented in modern frames. One of these lots reached $21,250, while the other hit $32,500 claiming the fourth highest selling slot for Lalique.
 Low Lalique seller was the iconic 1910 Gros Bourdon (Large Bumblebee) Seal that sold for $2500.
A Veilleuse is a night-light, basically a small table lamp. Of the five Rene Lalique Veilleuses, the rare and highly attractive Pissenlit Veilleuse sold for $34,375 making it the other second highest Lalique seller of the day, while Hirondelles, Veronique, and Branches De Prunus Veilleuses made $25,000, $23,750 and $22,500 respectively.
The 15th lot and the fifth Veilleuse, was the Veilleuse Brule-Parfum (perfume burner) Pommier, which sold for $21,250.
The works of the great Rene Lalique totaled $365,625 for an average of over $24,000 per lot. Note that you can see all of these items and thousands more by going to the Past Lalique Auctions main page at RLalique.com. There you can research great Lalique works in the RLalique.com past auctions database by category, such as all the Lalique Lighting or all the Lalique Plates in our database.
In spite of the fact that many of the wonderful items in this Sotheby’s sale are not widely collected (likely owing to the fact that some are so rare there just aren’t many examples to go around), the sale results showed strength across the board and represented yet another highly successful auction in a continuing trend of great auction results for R. Lalique. The take-up rate for R. Lalique (sold lots as a percentage of offered lots) in this sale? 100%. Oh yeah!
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January 7th, 2011
 R. Lalique Spirit of the Wind Lalique Victoire Hood Ornament For Sale! Only minor damage AND “It has never been for sale before…” it’s Item No. 160528702044 which has since been removed by Ebay.
Update: After receiving complaints about the auction, the seller changed out the stolen photo to a photo of a different Victoire Hood Ornament and amended the description to list more damage. Here is a link to a cached version of the original listing with the stolen photo showing: Stolen Photo Original Listing****
 And here is a post complaint photo of a Victoire the seller then claimed he was actually selling in the now deleted listing, which is obviously not the one in the original photo and listing as shown in the cached version of the original ad. Needs a bit of nose job don’t you think? End of Update Section, but see Danger Sign #6 Below.
Danger signs:
1. The auction advertisement has one photo in it, a photo that you can find elsewhere on the web if you look around a bit. Seriously, do you need more warning signs than that? If you are even thinking of bidding knowing this, serious due diligence should be taken to confirm the seller is in possession of the pictured item.
2. The seller has 18 feedbacks over 6 months or so. The top three transactions are for $85, $30, and $20! Heck, there’s even one for $0.99 (that’s ninety nine cents).
3. $32 shipping charge would not even cover the insurance!
4. Sellers of expensive items with high starting prices usually have lots of photos, not just one.
And MOST importantly:
5. This listing sits atop the list of suspicious items on the R. Lalique Police Page!
Update:
6. The Seller showed a single photo in the original ad of a Victoire that clearly was not for sale and coincidentally was a lot nicer looking than the one in the replacement photo later shown in the now deleted ad. Inquiring minds might ask: Was this fool me twice? End of Update
 It’s always a good idea to ask an online seller for more photos, just to be sure they have the item. But getting more photos is still not a guarantee that the seller owns the item shown in the ad or the item shown in the additional photos (what, they’re not the same item?), but it’s a good starting point to screen out many possible problems. And an even better idea to talk to an independent Lalique Consultant to minimize the chance of a major mistake!
The two photos in this article were taken from two different places. One is from the auction ad, the other from the web. Now seriously, which of the two photos here is the one from the auction, and which is the one you can find on the web? Hmmmmmmm …..
So be careful out there. The best case here would appear to be that the seller just took a photo off the web being too lazy or unable to take his or her own photos of this apparently expensive item. And even this best case would usually be a big problem if the photo taken from the web is not a photo of the actual item for sale (a bit unlikely?). Care should be taken to sort it out before bidding.
And finally, there’s an extension of Ebay scams where there is a stolen or borrowed photo listing to be aware of if you do run into one. After the auction ends or Ebay cancels the listing, if you had written the seller during the auction to make an inquiry, then after the auction you might get something like this:
“Hi,
My Lalique “BACCHANTES” Vase is not on ebay anymore, but it’s still available for sale.
My usual schedule has been changed and I had to go to Spain to take care of some business and that’s why I closed my auction.
The final price for the vase is US $ 1,700.00 including all the shipping costs and insurance. The vase is in perfect condition with no chips, cracks or dings.
Also I want to let you know that you will have the opportunity to receive and inspect the vase before you actually pay for it. If you are interested and want to know more details regarding the purchase just contact me.
Thanks,
Leda
P.S: If you want to see more pictures with the vase give me your email address.”
If you bite, the follow-up to this email is that there is an escrow website you can wire your money to before you receive the item. But of course you can get your money back if there is any problem. Really?
**** About the Cached Auction Link: You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.
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December 16th, 2010
 Rene Lalique was represented by just 5 items in the sale of Important 20th Century Design at Sotheby’s New York on December 16th.
But those five Lalique sale items gave this Sotheby’s decorative arts sale the highest price total for R. Lalique in a single auction for the year 2010, with the 5 lots all selling, and making a premium inclusive total of $1,301,500!
Things started off well, with the Lalique Chandelier Normandie (Sotheby’s took pains to point out that this R. Lalique Normandie Chandelier was not on the ship of the same name) making a high bid/premium inclusive total of $55,000/$68,500 against an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.
Next up was the unique and totally cool roughly 2 foot by 2 foot four inch pastel, water color and pencil Rene Lalique illustration done by Lalique for the cover of the Christmas Issue of the famous French magazine L’illustration. Named “Noel”, the original Lalique work on paper reached $30,000/$37,500 against a conservative estimate of $15,000 to $20.000.
Following the successful offering of the painting, was a great looking Rene Lalique Peacock Table Lamp “Paons”.
This approximately 16.75 inches tall lamp did not have the pierced shade with finial attachment often seen on this model and of course, it’s an early (1910) well coordinated design between the glass shade and the lamp base decoration.
For the third time in as many lots, the great Lalique item topped it’s estimate, making $80,000/$98,500 against a pre-sale of only $40,000 to $60,000.
 The fourth offering was the 1914 Cire Perdue Vase Baies De Cornouiller. The vase is a classic Lalique vase form, with a widening body coming up from the base and then pulling back over the shoulders of the vase into a rim whose width nearly matches the diameter of the base. This classically shaped vase had the added bonus of the high relief floral design wrapping around the great early cire perdue.
The Lalique Vase was a bit under 8 and 1/2 inches, and between two determined phone bidders it made $410,000/$494,500, topping the already strong estimate of $300,000 to $400,000.
The fifth and final item, was the Lalique Cire Perdue Statue Figure Femme Et Guirlande De Fleurs. This statue had been seriously damaged, having been broken into at least two pieces earlier in it’s life, and it has been said that it was put back together and restored under the supervision of Marie Claude Lalique.
 Twice this statue was offered for sale at auction in France in recent years, where it failed to sell at much more conservative estimates, albeit in more conservative times for prices as well.
But every statue has it’s day, and in this strong market, and on this day the very optimistic estimate of $600,00 to $900,000, was buttressed by a write-up by Felix Marcilhac as a catalogue note, in which Mr. Marcilhac related that Marie Claude Lalique felt this specific statue was her grandfather’s most important work
 The statue was the day’s high R. Lalique seller and at the same time was the only R. Lalique sale item whose bid price did not get into the estimate range, let alone exceed it. Fabulously, the tragic cire perdue statue made $500,000/$602,500 to top all Lalique and pull the sale total for the five lots well over the $1,000,000 mark. In dollars the statue’s price represented nearly 1/2 the R. Lalique sale total for the auction.
This price also made the R. Lalique Cire Perdue Statue the highest selling individual R. Lalique glass work at auction in quite some time. Quite a long time.
You can find all the resources at RLalique.com about Rene Lalique’s Cire Perdue Glass in the Cire Perdue Section of the R. Lalique Bio. This R.Lalique Statue is also listed in the Lalique Cire Perdue past auctions section at RLalique.com.
 We seem to be wrapping up a lot of these reports with the observation that for the great Lalique, prices continue strong (but not overheated), great items are getting scarce, and the market continues to expand. What the heck, good news is always welcome!
This sale marks a strong note as we near the finish line in a great year at auction for R. Lalique. This is especially impressive when considering the state of the world economy, and the increased supply that has appeared on the market.
We’ll try to do at least one more Lalique sales results article before year end, to catch up on some odds and ends from the last month or so, that by themselves were quite impressive, and that in total lend more credence to the notions expressed on these pages about the current state of affairs.
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December 11th, 2010
Rene Lalique sales continue to make strong results at auction as shown at the December 9th semi-annual sale of R. Lalique at Christies South Kensington salerooms.
Christies offered up 239 mostly R. Lalique lots, with 172 of those lots selling for a total price including buyers premium (all prices in this article include the premium) of £698,263. Christies figured the equivalent US dollars at $1,103,959 using an exchange rate of around $1.58**. The take-up rate in numbers of lots was 72%, and in British Pounds it was 68%.
 Top seller, and no surprise was Lot 23, the Lalique Car Mascot Comete, which made £58,850/$92,042 against a spot on estimate of £50,000 – £60,000. A fair price, it sold to the local trade for stock. A few of the other pieces that were in the running before the auction for high seller, such as the rare (and wonderful design) Tresor de la Mer Perfume Presentation****, a lot which was rumored to have serious issues, failed to sell. And a couple of others that might have been, just did not catch the attention of the bidders to the degree necessary to move them into first place!
Second high seller, and a bit of surprise was the cased white opalescent Lalique Vase Sauterelles, which against an estimate of £10,000 – £15,000, reached £30,000/$47,430. No doubt this is a world record price for this model vase in cased opalescent glass.
 Note: Keep an eye on the Rene Lalique Sales Section at RLalique.com. There’s already a good selection of colored glass and other vases, and it is rumored that another Cased White Opalescent Sauterelles Vase will be offered in the near future.
The great early (1912) Rene Lalique grasshopper vase design got serious interest throughout the sale as a green glass Sauterelles sold as Lot 54 for £21,250/$33,696, and a frosted and patinated Sauterelles topped $10,000 making £6,875/$10,869!
Third high seller was the interesting 1931 Lalique Enfant Statue. The statue, possibly made as the centerpiece for a table, had a well documented provenance from Rene Lalique’s workshops, and was a good-looking and attractive design as well. Against an estimate of £25,000 – £30,000, it made £27,500/$43,478.
 Next high seller was Lot 207, the OK looking (we don’t know about the condition) yellow amber opalescent Suzanne Statue which sold for #23,750/$37,549.
It tied in price with Lot 236, a green Perruches Vase, and squeaked in just ahead of Lot 225, the blue Perruches Vase at #22,500/$35,573.
It’s apparent that at least for now we’ve reached new consistent price levels for many of the various colors of Perruches vases, with several sales this year in the range of $35,000 to $45,000.
Matching the blue Perruches Vase price was the good looking and scare Lot 30, the Picardie Vase.
 Notable upside surprises included Lot 1, the Toby Paperweight which made £5,250/$8,300 to start the sale off with a bang, and Lot 56, the Red Ronces Vase at £10,000/$15,810 certainly another world record price continuing the red hot Lalique Red Vase trend. Even some lesser priced lots outdid themselves such as Lot 147 consisting of a Chiens Bowl and Chicoree Bowl which made £2,500/$3,953.
Or how about a Palestre Vase with a replaced base (yes, a replaced bottom) that sold for £17,500/$27,668, just sliding into the top 10 seller list? Things are really strong when you see that.
The Christies results owe as much to the great selection assembled by Joy McCall and the knowledgeable staff at Christies, as they do to the overall strong market trends. This sale, with some great new records and strength throughout most areas, may turn out to have the highest sale total of the year for R. Lalique in a single auction. But the result is no outlier, as even less publicized and smaller offering auctions have achieved some significant price gains for Lalique’s works, which we will undoubtably bring to your attention in the not too distant future.
 In the meantime, remember that even in strong markets, caution must be exercised in your collecting efforts. Getting caught up in the sweep, and spending heavily on assembled items, paying top dollar for low quality examples, or buying other pieces that you might avoid if you knew better (or if you got a second opinion), is no way to create a world class collection. Read Rene Lalique reference books, get as R. Lalique educated as you can, handle as much R. Lalique as you can, get independent R. Lalique advice, take care in your associations, avoid hucksters and fraudsters (they will always get the better of you), and exercise restraint and caution as you would in any financial dealings. If you do all this, you are likely to enjoy the results of your collecting efforts to a far greater degree, hopefully for a lifetime instead of a short time, than you will if you throw caution to the wind.
** The exchange rate of $1.58 on the day of the sale would not have been generally available to most buyers depending on the transaction size, method of payment, and to some degree the importance of the buyer with their financial intermediary. But for simplicity sake, we are using the Christies rate for all conversions in this article.
**** The 1936 Tresor de la Mer Perfume Presentation, made by Rene Lalique for Saks, is the highest selling Rene Lalique Perfume at auction in history, making over $200,000 in November 2006.
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December 5th, 2010
 Rene Lalique Antiques made another great showing December 4th at Heritage Auctions in New York City at their sale of Lalique, Art Glass, and Perfume Bottles. Heritage offered 177 R. Lalique items in Session 2 of the 3 Session Sale***, and then 48 more R. Lalique pieces in an internet only bidding Session 3. All of the 177 lots in Session 2 were reported sold (which may not be correct, we thought there were half dozen no-sales from watching the auction but we could be wrong about that), and 45 of the 48 in the Internet only Session 3 were sold. Total R. Lalique sale offerings were 225, total reported sold were 222 for a reported take-up rate 98.6%.
 Total sales dollars for the 222 lots were $869,906 or an average of $3918 per lot. Even if we are right about the small number of no-sales, the take-up rate would still be above 95%, and the lot average and sale total would not be materially affected.
High seller was the great looking Lalique Serpent Vase in rich amber glass selling as Lot No. 70334. An outstanding example of this increasingly hard to find model (a New York Lalique Dealer was overheard to say it was a “5” – “1. Best 2. One 3. I’ve 4. Ever 5. Seen”), it hammered town at $47,500 and totaled $56,762 including the 19.5% buyers premium. This is almost certainly a world record auction price for this model. Coincidentally, the Lalique Sale in New York last year for Heritage also saw a Rene Lalique Serpent Vase in amber glass as the high selling lot. Last year’s offering made a hammer price of $40,000, and $47,800 all-in.
2nd high seller, and a bit of a surprise placement, was the Source De La Fontaine Statue Echo, which made an all-in $33,460 selling as Lot No. 70338. Note: In the Past Lalique Auctions Section at RLalique.com, you’ll find R. Lalique past sales broken down into many categories. It’s worth checking out!
After the Echo, next high seller was a dark amber Lalique Gros Scarabees Vase, that made $28,680 selling as Lot No. 70332.
 Two other lots topped $20,000, including the Red Poissons Vase at $23,900 and the great looking Lot 70171, the 1925 black and orange enameled Roditi & Sons Perfume bottle Raquel Meller making $20,315 all-in. This is one of the most striking and seldom seen of all Rene Lalique Perfume Bottles (the link will take you to the Rene Lalique Bio Perfume Bottle section where you will find links to all R. Lalique Perfume Bottle resources on RLalique.com).
Spots six and seven were taken up by a frosted Victoire Mascot and an Amber Perruches Vase, both making north of $19,000 all-in.
Another great sale, an amazing take-up rate, strong pricing and even a bit of world record pricing.
 Is this sounding familiar or what?
*** Note: At least one lot of R. Lalique was a mixed lot with other items and is reported as an R. Lalique lot.
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December 1st, 2010
 Today, December 1st, 2010, we set the record at RLalique.com for most auctions listed in the Worldwide R. Lalique Auctions Section of the website at one time, with 100 auctions listed coming up around the world that have R. Lalique in them! From Budapest to Boston, and from Melbourne to Manasquan (that’s in New Jersey:), great R. Lalique works coming up for auction such as those pictured here! Global warming has nothing on RLalique.com. At World Headquarters we are HOT!
And, in the don’t break your elbow while patting yourself on the back department (oh yea, we’ve got a department for that too), even more impressive, those auctions are spread around 14 countries! That’s right 14, which is a new record for the number of countries listed at any one time.
 Here’s the country list for inquiring minds:
Australia
Belgium
Canada
France
Germany
Great Britain
Hungary
Italy
New Zealand
Scotland
South Africa
Sweden
Switzerland
United States
We also set a record in the R. Lalique Police Department this month with 50 active listings on the Police Report Page at one time!
As our reach grows and the popularity of the site continues to grows, more and more information flows into World Headquarters and back out to benefit those of you that follow the site and are involved with the output of Rene Lalique.
 More bidders, more auction action for the works of the great Lalique, more exposure in the art world, more publicity, better prices: Everyone benefits!
And think about joining the growing list of Collectors and Enthusiasts of the great Lalique that help keep us informed, emailing in auction information, information on fakes news, pricing and results, even condition information if you think it’s important. Pick any email address on the site if you think something will be helpful to the growing worldwide collector community and send it in. You’ll be helping a lot of R. Lalique enthusiasts by getting involved, and you’ll be helping yourself by contributing to the improvement of the collecting and enthusiasts’ field which you have in common with a lot of people you know, and lot more that you don’t.
R. Lalique is setting records. So are we. Spread the word.
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November 29th, 2010
Rene Lalique glass continues to make new record high prices as it appears at auction around the world. Sunday November 28th was one of those record price days.
First spotted by an alert staff member here at World Headquarters in early November (staff members do all the work but remain totally nameless and anonymous, getting no credit and even less pay!), the nondescript auction listing in an obscure place read as follows:
“Lalique Rose Console Bowl”!
The automatic follow up email headed to the Douglassville Pennsylvania office of Ron Rhoads Auction House (and inquiring minds ask, why isn’t it Ron AND Eileen Rhoads Auction House, or Rhoads and Rhoads, that has a nice ring to it) that simply said:
“Hello. We saw in your listing for Nov 27th that you had some Lalique. If any of it is signed R. Lalique, can you email us a photo or point us to a photo on the web? Thanks” Note: the sale was a two day sale on the 27th and 28th.
Turns out Eileen Rhoads is no slouch and she replied the same day with the above photo of the red piece that was not signed R. Lalique.
Definitely red wouldn’t you say? And signed R. Lalique or not, it’s what the two Hatfields were overheard to say just before the shooting started: “That’s a real McCoy”! ****
Well, after further inquiries and information gathering, we posted this Great Lalique Red Glass Vase not just in our R. Lalique Auctions listings, but we also did a News & Blog article about the appearance in rural Pennsylvania of this Classic Red Lalique Vase, that sported the timeless 1919 impressed LALIQUE signature. We thought at the time that it needed all the exposure we could give it, in order to ensure that everyone around the world was aware of this great colored vase and that all interested parties would have a chance at it. Also, the discovery of great things in quiet places makes for a pretty good story too!
 Fast forwarding a bit to November 28th, 9 (that’s nine) phone bidders from the U.S. and several countries around the world, as well as several different bidders that made the trip to the Rhoads’ auction venue in Spring City Pennsylvania (many of whom volunteered “I saw it on RLalique.com”, the rest must have just been tight lipped), competed to take the vase to a hammer price of $115,000, which this writer believes is a record hammer price for any R. Lalique Colored Glass production vase at auction anywhere in the world. All-in, with the modest 15% buyer’s premium, the total cost to the winning bidder before any sales tax, was $132,250! This all-in price falls just short of the all-in record for a Lalique colored glass vase, which is believed to have been made at Sotheby’s in New York City on December 14th, 2007 for a cased yellow amber opalescent Oranges Vase (optimistically but incorrectly referred to as the “Orange Oranges”), which hammered out for less than the Hirondelles, at $110,000, but had a bigger buyer’s premium of $23,000, for a total sale price of $133,000. This writer happened to stumble into the room at Sothebys in New York just before the bidding began on the Oranges Vase back in 2007, and after a modest amount, by memory well under $50,000, it was just two bidders to the roof.
For the great red vase, the auction house reported that there were several bidders still in the bidding at $100,000, and several others just below that. A stunning display of the depth of interest in great R. Lalique colored glass vases from places all around the globe. Not only did the vase set a sales record, but also the Rhoads’ have a heck of an up to date list of serious R. Lalique buyers for anyone looking to auction off some great R. Lalique items!
In the end, the vase sold in the United States, to a Southwestern U.S. collector! Hmmm…
In the audience at the auction were two of the heirs to the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Baker. Mr. Baker was a railroad collecting legend and author, and Mrs. Baker was known as the “Queen of Glass”, having written a featured column for 19 years in a major antiques publication. The Baker Estate was selling the vase thru Rhoads (and Rhoads). Neither the heirs nor the regulars in attendance had any warning that this was going to be the high selling piece or that it would sell so highly. After the great vase crossed the block, there was applause throughout and tears among many of the interested parties that were involved with the estate and the auction. Another great day for the great Rene Lalique!
**** The Hatfields and the McCoys carried out the most famous and legendary family feud in American history. The Hatfields (shown above in the great family photo) lived mostly on the West Virginia side of the Tug Fork River (which is a small tributary to the Big Sandy River), and the McCoys lived mainly across the stream on the Kentucky side. The feud lasted from 1865 to 1891 and many members of both families were killed and various family members taken to trial for crimes committed during the feud. This feud has become folklore and is referenced regularly to describe bitter long running disputes in the U.S. The phrase “the real McCoy” is a phrase that denotes the genuine, real, or authentic thing. There are many theories about how the phrase came to be, one of which actually involves the feud! But likely the phrase has nothing to do with the Hatfield-McCoy drama, we just thought it worked in nicely since the red glass vase IS the real McCoy 🙂
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November 25th, 2010
Rene Lalique Glass was represented in Bonham’s November 17th London “Design from 1860” Sale by 25 lots near the end of the morning sale session. As is typical, just over half, or 13 of the lots were the famous Lalique Vases, including two lots which had two vases in each lot.
 High selling vase and high seller for all the Lalique was the great looking 1937 Art Deco and figural oblong Lalique Vase Terpsichore in opalescent glass. It made £27,500 hammer price, or £33,000. And at 1.68 to the dollar (used for all computations in this article), about $55,400 including buyers premium. A standout result and an indicator that high-end opalescent vases are participating in the price gains seen the past several years by Lalique’s colored glass vases. For more information about this lot, check out the original Lalique Terpischore Vase auction listing in the Auctions Past section of the website.
 Next high seller, at £21,600/$36,300 all-in, was the Lalique Coffret Figurines. Selling as Lot 264, the wood box with glass panel inserts, sported only 2 glass panels, and did not match the 5-panel model shown in the catalogue raisonne. It also may be the same box that has been offered at auction in two other countries without success in the last year or so. Nonetheless, to Bonham’s credit, the attractive box went off at a great price, and a well-earned 2nd place in the Lalique Sales sweepstakes.
 Prices dropped off pretty quickly from there, with the next several high sellers making roughly a quarter or less of the 2nd place price. Lot 254, a good looking Lalique Piriac Vase in blue glass, came 3rd at £5,760/$9,700. 4th/5th slot was a tie between Lot 252, a yellow amber and cased opalescent Lalique Chardons vase, and Lot 249, a Lalique Grande Libellule Dragonfly Car Mascot. Each was all-in for £4,800/$8,100.
Of the initial 25 offerings, 24 found new owners, for a nearly perfect take-up rate of 96% for the works of the great Lalique. In all the Lalique sales totaled £107,340/$180,300 with the two top lots representing roughly 50% of the 24 lot total.
For more information about the great Lalique’s vases, check out the Rene Lalique Vases section of Lalique Biography at RLalique.com, where you’ll find links to all the Lalique vase information and resources on the website.
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November 22nd, 2010
The great Lalique has made another strong auction showing, this time on November 17th at Christies in Geneva Switzerland.
On offer in “Jewels: The Geneva Sale”, was a single piece of Rene Lalique unique jewelry described as “An Art Nouveau Fringe Necklace by Rene Lalique”. This wonderful artistic creation was sold along with its “beige fabric Lalique case”. And the entire lot was highlighted in the Worldwide Lalique Auctions Section at RLalique.com for several weeks. Here is the original Lalique Necklace listing.
The elegant Lalique collier is referenced in the seminal work by Sigrid Barten, “Rene Lalique Schmuck und Objects d’art 1890-1910“. Composed of pearls, brown glass, white enamel and gold, it is a striking showpiece measuring 40 centimeters and being circa approximately 1900.
Against a pre-sale estimate of $61,000 – $81,000, the necklace made over 5 times the low estimate and over 4 times the high, ending at a resounding CHF 327,000 or $333,661 including the buyer’s premium.
Described in the sale catalogue as “The Property of a Lady”, the winning bidder secured what can only be described, notwithstanding its lack of precious stones, as a real gem of a necklace and an outstanding piece of Lalique Art Nouveau artwork.
For links to all of the jewellery resources at RLalique.com, check out the Lalique Jewellery Section of the Rene Lalique Bio.
All Articles on These Topics: R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, Rene Lalique Jewelry and R Lalique Jewelry
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November 18th, 2010
A rare and attractive red glass R. Lalique Hirondelles Vase circa 1919 has appeared at Ron Rhoads Auction House of Spring City, Pennsylvania. Spring City is in Chester County, just southeast of Pottstown near the Benjamin Franklin Highway (which is US-422). It’s less than an hour drive northwest of Philadelphia. The sale date is November 28th.
 If you’re making the trip, this entire area is rich in American history, with everything from the Liberty Bell to Independence Hall open to the public in Philadelphia. There are cheesesteaks too, but that is another (tasteful) story. Heading out of Philadelphia to Spring City, US-422 passes right by Valley Forge, the infamous winter camp of the Continental Army during 1777-1778.
 The wonderful vase, with the molded 1919 impressed LALIQUE signature, is one of the great early colored Rene Lalique Vases. Hirondelles is the French word for Swallows, which adorn the vase in a red and frosted band around the mid-section, and which contrast with the highly polished finish of the red glass on the un-decorated parts the vase. The auction house says the vase is in amazing nearly new condition.
You can read more about this great find in the Lalique Auctions section of RLalique.com. And you’ll find links to all the vase information at RLalique.com in the Rene Lalique Bio Lalique Vase section.
This vase is in the estate of Mr. And Mrs. Stanley Baker of Minneapolis Minnesota. Mr. Baker had a very interesting life. Among other things, he was a longtime and well known Railroadiana collector and a noted author. His wife wrote for the Antique Trader.
The contact at Ron Rhoads is Eileen. The phone number there is 610-385-4818.
Update: Read the RLalique.com report about the sale of the great R. Lalique Red Vase!
All Articles on These Topics: R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases
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November 11th, 2010
Lalique Art Glass sold extremely well in Sotheby’s London Fine 20th Century Design Sale on November 9th. This continued a trend of strong Rene Lalique auction pricing which has been ongoing for the last several years.
 Sotheby’s offered 18 attractive R Lalique pieces, with the majority being the iconic Lalique Vases, many of them colored glass. 16 of the lots sold, for a take up rate of 88%. All the lots that did sell went in or above the estimates, many times well above.
The sale totaled (including buyers premium for all prices discussed in this article) £305,625, or in dollars (at 1.68 dollars to the pound) $513.450. This works out to average sales prices of £19,102 or $32,091.
High seller was the attractive and rare Lalique Clock Le Jour et la Nuit: The Day and the Night Clock in very attractive blue glass. This clock is one of the artistic triumphs of Rene Lalique and it made a reasonable £91,250/$153,300 against an estimate of £60,000-£80,000.
 This one lot represented 30% of the total Lalique sales prices for all 16 sold lots. But this was by no means a runaway price as this model Lalique Clock in blue glass has previously sold in this price range.
Second high seller was the Lalique Vase Bellecour making £28,750/$48,300 against an estimate of £12,000 – £18,000.
A strong price indeed and a bit of a surprise as this vase outsold some strong colored vases to make its 2nd place showing. Several Bellecour vases have appeared in the past couple of years, but price wise, this one outshone them all by a substantial margin.
 Third best lot was a rare pair of the 30 cm tall Rene Lalique Table Lamps in the Poissons model. These lamps sold for £25,000/$42,000 against a spot on estimate of £20,000 – £30,000.
Fourth place was taken up by the red glass Rene Lalique Vase Escargot. Escargot vases in colored glass are getting very hard to find at public auctions. Also very scarce are true red glass Lalique Vases. These two factors no doubt helped the bidding along to the final total of £22,500/$37,800 against the pre-sale estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.
 Fifth high seller was the Lalique Poissons Vase in an attractive green color, one of the many varieties of green that this vase has been seen in. The Poissons made £20,000/$33,600 against its conservative estimate of £8,000 – £12,000.
Overall 10 of the 16 sold lots were vases, accounting for £146,875/$246,750, or just under half the Lalique sale total.
One other price worth mentioning was achieved by three different highly popular and attractive vases, all of which sold for £16,250/$27,300.
 One was a butterscotch colored (cased yellow amber and opalescent) Archers Vase, one was an opalescent Bacchantes Vase, and the third was a clear and frosted Rene Lalique Serpent Vase. While not representing a giant leap from previous sale prices, this may be the highest price ever paid at auction for a clear and frosted Serpent Vase.
The colorless Serpent Vase selling for the same price as the Butterscotch Archers and the Opalescent Bacchantes shows just how strong the demand is for rare Serpent Vases in today’s market, as even non-colored glass versions of this great Rene Lalique design can compete on price with highly popular opalescent and cased colored versions of other attractive but more plentiful Lalique Vase models.
Here are all the Rene Lalique Sales Results for this sale:
Lot 55 – ‘Anémones’ circular mirror – £8,750/$14,700
Lot 56 – ‘Bacchantes’ vase – £16,250/$27,300
Lot 57 – ‘Poissons’ pair of table lamps – £25,000/$42,000
Lot 58 – ‘Le Jour et la Nuit’ timepiece – £91,250/$153,300
Lot 112 – ‘Cigognes’ vase – £7,500/$12,600
Lot 113 – ‘Baies’ vase – £7,500/$12,600
Lot 123 – ‘Serpent’ vase – £16,250/$27,300
Lot 124 – ‘Perruches’ vase – £5,625/$9,450
Lot 124 – ‘Bellecour’ vase – £28,750/$48,300
Lot 126 – ‘Cardamine’ lamp – £12,500/$21,000
Lot 128 – ‘Escargot’ vase – £22,500/$37,800
Lot 129 – ‘Grande Nue Socle Lierre’ – £15,000/$25,200
Lot 130 – ‘Madagascar’ bowl – £6,250/$10,500
Lot 131 – ‘Poissons’ vase – £20,000/$33,600
Lot 133 – ‘Archers’ vase (amber) – £6,250/$10,500
Lot 134 – ‘Archers’ vase (butterscotch) – £16,250/$27,300
Lots 114 and 132, Antelopes and Poissons Vases respectively, did not sell
The period between November 1st and Christmas is traditionally the time of year when the highest volume of Rene Lalique works appear at auction, and this year is no exception. There are several auctions with large numbers of Lalique offerings coming up in the next several weeks. And there will be over 100 auctions with lesser numbers of R. Lalique lots as well. You can follow all the auction action and keep informed about all the upcoming Rene Lalique auction offerings in the Lalique Auctions Section at RLalique.com. And for research and information on thousands of previous Lalique auction sales, check out the Past Lalique Auctions pages as well.
All Articles on These Topics: R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases, Rene Lalique Clocks and R Lalique Clocks
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October 15th, 2010
 R Lalique Glass has set several world record prices at auction in 2010, as strong auction sales become the norm for the works of Rene Lalique around the world. With some great sales still to come before year end, we thought we’d bring four of these auction prices to the forefront for a variety of reasons, including that as a group, these pieces sit squarely in the mainstay of R Lalique collecting.
In May in London at Christies South Kensington’s traditional semi-annual sale of R Lalique, three Perruches Vases by the great Lalique, sold for top dollar (well, top pound :). A green Perruches made £30,000 all-in, and a Blue Perruches made £32,500 as did an Amber Perruches as well.
 With some research, we were unable to find these three colored Perruches Vases ever making these prices previously at auction!
These sales prices were a bit of a jump from current trends, but they were not unexpected considering the increasing demand for quality colored vases and the short supply, as well as generally strong auction pricing throughout the last several years across nearly the entire spectrum for R Lalique works.
Then at Bonham’s usual sale of Automobilia at Quail Lodge, held this year over two days on August 12th and 13th, where they offered roughly a dozen R Lalique Car Mascots, another world record price was set!
 The high selling Lalique mascot, beating out Victoire (at $14,640 all-in), two different Vitesse (at $10,980 and $8,540 all-in), as well as a Cinq Cheveaux ($9,272), La Grenouille ($9,150), and a good selection of lesser priced mascots, was Lot 507, a dark topaz with red center Coq Nain Car Mascot. The R Lalique Coq Nain made $20,740 all-in! We are unable to find any example of this model and color that has even come close to this price at auction.
Again, not some esoteric one-off piece, but another mainstay R Lalique collectible, a colored version of a somewhat common Lalique Car Mascot. For more information on Lalique Mascots, check-out the R Lalique Car Mascots Section of the Rene Lalique Biography at RLalique.com, where you’ll find links to all the information on the website about the car mascots of Rene Lalique.
Quietly, but consistently, R Lalique has been making firm prices across the board. And in the prime and most popular areas of the collecting field, price are pushing into record territory in many instances.
 With over 60 R Lalique Auctions listed in our Worldwide Auction Section as we write this, a record of our own for auction listings in mid-October, over 1000 R Lalique Auctions listed so far this year, and likely at least a couple hundred more to come before we close out 2010, it’s shaping up to be the strongest year yet in a string of strong R Lalique Sales years that were in place before the economic crisis of the past couple of years, that continued unabated during the downturn, and that appear to be getting even stronger as the world slowly tries to put its economic house in order. And no, we are not proud that we have strung together over 100 words in one run-on sentence.
And if you run across a great R Lalique auction price as you pursue your R Lalique interests, please email and tell us about it. We’ll include great auction prices in our auction wrap-ups that we publish from time to time.
All Articles on These Topics: R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases, Rene Lalique Car Mascots and R Lalique Car Mascots
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September 5th, 2010
Renaissance Antiques of Davenport Iowa, in the person of owner Naim Bouchareb, a regular seller on Ebay under the Ebay screen name Dounial, sells a lot of R Lalique items online. Some of these listings raise serious questions. We have been motivated to write about this R Lalique Seller for a variety of reasons including complaints and negative comments that have come in thru and because of the website, and also a recent couple of listings that squarely highlight the questions.
We have previously written in these pages, that if you are going to purchase from a dealer, that it is extremely important that your dealer be honest and competent. It’s also important that you are armed with the most information possible, which is the best defense against regrets and the various dark arts practiced throughout any collecting field.
Here we have what in our opinion is as fake a signature as can be found. The signature resides on a piece sold on Ebay by Renaissance Antiques. The piece in the cached version**** of the Dounial Ebay Listing sports the signature on the underside of the base as shown above. This item has graced the pages of the R Lalique Police Report Section for some time.
 Stranger than the signature, is its location on the underside of the base. Note in the photo the dark little pads under the piece and a signature that appears in the photo to be raised out of the glass. Of course, if you put a raised signature on the underside of a piece that has a flat bottom:
A – The signature will touch the surface of whatever it’s sitting on!
B – The piece will not sit level due to the signature being elevated from the rest of the base!
C – And the signature itself will be scraped up and maybe even off, and worn totally over time.
And there you have the little green pads, apparently to protect the signature and level the piece.
How many pieces do you have of authentic R Lalique, where the signature is raised on the flat part of the underside; an underside that by design comes in direct contact with the surface the piece is sitting on? Seriously, whoever put the signature on this piece wasn’t thinking it through, wasn’t familiar with R Lalique, or just didn’t care. Or there is a fourth possibility!
Many buyers of glass assume that a molded signature is a mark of authenticity. We have repeatedly stressed on RLalique.com that you should never buy a signature; that the signature does not authenticate the piece. In fact, the piece must authenticate the signature. In the example at hand, whether this piece is a post war Cristal Lalique reproduction or a Czech copy, the addition of the molded signature would typically be intended to give an assurance of authenticity of the piece being an original work of Rene Lalique.
But these “molded” signatures can be faked; with not too much more work than scratching in a phony signature with a sharp object. In simple terms, the forger protects with a stencil of some kind, the outline of the desired signature, and then using acid, cuts back everything else on the underside of the base a millimeter or two, leaving a raised “molded” signature that was not cut away with the acid. See Fake Lalique Signatures for other examples similar to the signature on this Coq Nain.
So here we have a regular seller of R Lalique pieces selling a piece that does not even appear right at first glance. What does the R Lalique Dealer, this regular seller of R Lalique, this Antiques Dealer, this Specialist have to say about this piece in his ad?
“AMAZING! R. LALIQUE FRANCE “COQ NAIN” CLEAR/FROSTED” and “Condition: very good condition, small chip on the base rim”
Who is the likely buyer of this piece? A beginning or novice collector that doesn’t know. Someone from the very group of collectors from which long term serious collectors emerge, assuming they don’t have the kinds of regrets to sour them on the entire collecting field that might be caused by a signature like the one on this piece.
The time spent to read up a little on Faked Lalique works and the related subjects covered by that link, may save you many regrets. And of course a little independent Lalique Consulting can go a long way toward avoiding bad experiences.
 And if you liked the Coq Nain, you’ll like this cached version**** of a second Renaissance Antiques Ebay listing just as well. A bit of a play on an old Wendy’s**** advertising slogan “Where’s the Beef?”, we are inclined to ask Renaissance Antiques, Where’s the Rim? Oh yea …. “Excellent condition” so says the seller.
Compare the Dounial Ebay Domremy Vase pictured here with the photo of the Rene Lalique Domremy Vase below that came up for auction last year.
Renaissance Antiques thru their Ebay screen name Dounial is also featured on the website TiffanyFakes.com! Hardly surprising.
Is Dounial, Mr. Naim Bouchareb, Renaissance Antiques, guilty of nothing more than ignorance? Is it omission or commission? Responsibility or irresponsibility? Regardless, the result is the same for a buyer that relies on “Amazing!” and “very good condition” and bizarre “molded” signatures blazoned across the bottom of car mascots or paperweights.
 And this is why, if you are buying from a dealer, that having a competent and honest dealer (along with getting independent advice concerning your purchases) is so important. If you know a fair amount about R Lalique, and if you are careful, and if you purchase from many sources at auctions, online, thru individuals, etc., you may make a few mistakes and have a couple of regrets. But if you are buying regularly from the same dealer, a dealer that is not competent and honest, you may end up with many, many regrets. It is for this reason that we emphasized previously (see Lalique Bacchantes article) and reiterate here the great importance to you as a buyer, that if you are buying from a dealer, you should ensure that the dealer is honest and competent.
And how much did Renaissance Antiques make on the Coq Nain sale? They sold the piece for $399, a lot less even than the few pieces of silver you hear tell about.
UPDATE October 30, 2010:
 New Dounial Ebay LIsting: R. LALIQUE FRANCE “ROSES EN RELIEF” DRESSER BOX W/ LID
Here is a link to a cached version**** of another listing from Renaissance Antiques selling as Dounial on Ebay. The actual name of the listed box, shown here on the right in a photo from the Ebay listing, is Coppelia. It is a modern post war crystal box made by Cristal Lalique. The Cristal Lalique model number is 10578, which is documented along with the name of the box in the below photo from the book Lalique Par Marie-Claude Lalique on Page 251.
A nice modern crystal item. Certainly not an R. Lalique France “Roses in Relief” Box as described in the title to the Renaissance Antiques Ebay ad. Curiously, we cannot see the signature on the Ebay box in the photos that Renaissance Antiques has used in the ad. Curioser, the ad does not state what the signature says!
UPDATE July 18, 2011: Get Your R. Lalique Perfume Bottle – It is Signed!!
 In July of 2011, Ebay Dounial put up for auction Item No. 370527285412, a modern crystal Clairefontane Perfume Bottle described by Renaissance Antiques in the Auction Title as Circa 1945 R. Lalique. Here is a link to the Cached Image Version**** of the Dounial Ebay Perfume Bottle. At least they show a (very dark) photo of the signature at the bottom of the ad; a signature that indicates it is a post war crystal reproduction Perfume Bottle by Cristal Lalique. What makes that so great is in the auction description they again say it’s an R. Lalique Perfume Bottle and add some gravitas by stating “… it is signed.” Taken by itself, that last quote is true, it’s just too bad it isn’t signed R. Lalique. We can already see the next ad: “Get your signed Picasso Painting?” And you look and see the painting is signed “Renaissance Antiques”.
UPDATE August 14, 2011: Get Your R. Lalique Drinking Glasses oops Vases!!
 In August of 2011 Dounial put up at auction two different listings for Marienthal drinking glasses but advertised them as vases! Hmmmm, wonder what the motive was for that. Get your “MAGNIFICENT 1927 R LALIQUE AMBER MARIENTHAL VASE”, and don’t worry if you have a strange urge to use it for a soda or even a mixed drink!! Here are the cached versions **** of the two listings: Dounial Ebay Vase 1 and Ebay Dounial Vase 2! What will he think of next?
Oh yea, don’t drink the flowers.
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UPDATE September 24, 2011
Get Your R. Lalique damaged perfume bottle oops Bud Vase!!
 
“SPECTACULAR R. LALIQUE BUD VASE WITH NUDES”
The Ebay item, the “BUD VASE” which is shown above and to the left, appears to be an Ambre Antique Perfume Bottle that is missing the stopper, the entire rim, the neck, and more. Compare that to the Ambre Antique Rene Lalique Perfume Bottle made for Coty on the right! Pity the unsuspecting vase buyer. Get your one of a kind, newly discovered R. Lalique Bud Vase, so rare, it’s not documented as a vase, but it is signed 🙂
UPDATE December 17, 2011
The Buffalo Bill Cody Perfume Bottle!
“MAGNIFICENT C.1920 R. LALIQUE PERFUME BOTTLE MADE FOR THE CODY COMPANY”
 Yes friends, who knew Buffalo Bill Cody was in the perfume business?
Yet another exciting discovery brought to you by Dunial of Renaissnce Antiques on Ebay! And as usual, the best thing about this bottle; the mark of authenticity is ” …… it is also signed.” Now that’s comforting. Too bad it’s not signed R. Lalique of course, but rest assured ” …… it is also signed.”
Here’s a link to the cached version of an Ebay Listing where you’ll see someone bought the thing for $199!
If anyone has any documentation that the Buffalo Bill Bottle is an authentic R. Lalique Perfume Bottle as represented in the advertisement, please forward it to us. Or if anyone has an old photo of Buffalo Bill holding this bottle, please send that to us also. 🙂
UPDATE April 28, 2012: Get Your Lalique Studios Penguin Paperweight!!
 Just when you thought you’d seen everything, here’s a link to the cached version**** of a great Naim Bouchareb listing for a penguin paperweight made by Zellique Studios. If you take a look at the listing, you’ll see it’s signed Zellique Studios! But Dounial decided to sell it as Lalique Studios! You cannot make this stuff up. We also include a link to an Ebay listing from someone that properly identified the paperweight (by reading the clear signature on the piece), sold it as Zellique, and got more money with a truthful advertisement than Mr. Bouchareb did passing the thing off as Lalique. You can draw your own conclusions about what pays and what does not pay.
And the band plays on.
*** Wendy’s was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1969 by one of the great (and regretfully late) American Entrepreneurs, Dave Thomas. There is a persistent and widespread story going around that he named the restaurant chain after his daughter Wendy. But he didn’t have a daughter named Wendy! His daughter’s name was Melinda Lou. Of course at a young age she couldn’t pronounce her own name, and got the nickname Wendy, a name she could pronounce, which makes the whole story true enough. To think we’ve really been eating at Melinda Lou’s all this time.
****You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.
October 23rd, 2010 Update: Switched Item Link To Cached Image Version
January 10, 2011 Update: Switched Roses Box Link to Cached Image Version
July 18, 2011 Update: Added paragraph to discuss current offering of a modern crystal perfume bottles as R. Lalique Circa 1945.
August 14, 2011 Update: Added paragraph to discuss offering Marienthal drinking glasses as vases.
August 15, 2011 Update: Updated links. Switched Marienthal drinking glass listings to Cached Image Versions. Both sold listings strangely disappeared from Ebay already. Dounial had also re-listed what appeared to be the same yellow amber Marienthal Glass (the “vase” that had just sold?) and that re-listing also disappeared. We also updated the Clairefontaine Perfume link to the Cached Image Version from our July update, as this listing also disappeared from Ebay along with the aforementioned other listings.
December 23, 2011 Update: Switched Bud Vase / Damaged Perfume Bottle link to Cached Image Version
April 28, 2012 Update: Added modern Zelique Studios Penguin Dounial sold as R.Lalique and switched the Wild Bill Cody Perfume Bottle link to the cached version.
All Articles on These Topics: R Lalique and Rene Lalique Fakes-Copies-Frauds, R Lalique and Rene Lalique Sellers, Rene Lalique Car Mascots and R Lalique Car Mascots, Rene Lalique Paperweights - Lalique Paperweights, Suspicious RLalique-R Lalique-Rene Lalique Auctions
Posted in R Lalique - Rene Lalique Authentication Identification, R Lalique and Rene Lalique Fakes-Copies-Frauds | 1 Comment »
August 7th, 2010
EBay is a great marketplace for the works of Rene Lalique. Cool and rare objects appear out of the hinterlands and offer opportunities for collectors they would never have seen before. And just the sheer volume of daily trading of R. Lalique items creates liquidity in the market and contributes to the overall stability of the worldwide collecting field. It’s a great place to sell items with low transaction costs, and a great place to buy pieces as well.
But like all things, the story is usually not entirely one sided, and as regular visitors to RLalique.com are aware, many items are listed on Ebay under the R. Lalique banner, that are not always exactly what they seem.
 The RLalique Police Page always has a “good” selection of various problematic Ebay auctions listed for anyone that wants to take the time to investigate before bidding on something. And we can’t leave this topic without mentioning of course, that we also do offer affordable Lalique Consulting for any purchase, not just on Ebay but for any auction item (or an entire auction) or private sale worldwide.
One Ebay item in particular was brought to our attention by several alert readers in recent days and it has graced the top of the RLalique Police listings since it first appeared online. The auction was purportedly for the Rene Lalique Vase Gros Scarabees: The Lalique Beetle Vase! The auction ended today, and while we were looking at the Ebay Item Page in feigned disbelief, the refrain from the old Eagles standard kept running thru our minds:
There’s gonna be a heartache tonight,
A heartache tonight, I know.
There’s gonna be a heartache tonight, I know.
Lord, I know.
 What makes this listing so “great”, is the sheer laziness of the Ebay seller combined with the obvious warning signs. Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original 190426530971 listing online***, the “Grosses Scarabees Vase”. You can’t make these names up, they just appear! How did this become the “Grosses”? Simple, the seller copied that information directly from a previous online auction listing along with the exact same three photos in that previous listing!
The original seller of this vase last year, an auction house that regularly sells R. Lalique, made a mistake in their heading when they brought the vase to auction in June of 2009 and called it the “Grosses Scarabees Vase”. The current Ebay lister just copied out the info, correct, mistaken, no matter. See the original listing for yourself here: Grosses Vase.
And the three photos? Well, they are actually just one photo that was then given different effects (lighter, darker, highlights) to make it appear to be three different photos.
Rago reports that with buyers premium the vase sold last year for $8400. Then it appears on Ebay a year later, with an $800 starting price and no reserve! And the lucky winner gets it for only $2000! Oh, and FREE shipping too! That’s a really big expense for the seller that he’s throwing in :). How great is this?
Well, we already know how this story is going to end:
There’s gonna be a heartache tonight,
A heartache tonight, I know.
There’s gonna be a heartache tonight, I know.
Lord, I know.
***You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.
All Articles on These Topics: R Lalique and Rene Lalique Fakes-Copies-Frauds, R Lalique and Rene Lalique on Ebay, R Lalique Vases and Rene Lalique Vases, Suspicious RLalique-R Lalique-Rene Lalique Auctions
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July 14th, 2010
Rene Lalique created a “traumhafter hummer”, which in German means “fantastic lobster”, and rarely do these hummers come up for sale. Not quite as big as the traumhafter Hummers that wheel thru the streets around World Headquarters, and surely not as noisy, this particular lobster had some minor damages but was basically intact. Considering the rarity, the chipping would have likely not been any impediment to a dozen different collectors putting in a bid if they had the chance.
But it was not to be as on July 1st, two nice paperweights appeared on Ebay from the same German seller, both with Buy-It-Now prices of €650, or around $825. Needless to say, the Lobster (Lalique called it a Langoustine which is Crayfish but which also refers to a Spiny or Rock Lobster*) was a bit more of a opportunity than the Bull, Taureau Model No. 1194, which the German seller rightfully calls a “Stier”. There’s likely a story about the Ebay cruiser coming upon the Lobster auction with the low Buy-It-Now and muttering “that ain’t no bull”, but time and inclination do not permit us to digress that far afield. Nonetheless, it was reported by one of our alert readers (with regrets for not being the buyer) that over 10 people viewed the Lobster auction before someone clicked on the Buy-It-Now button. Here is a link to a saved/cached image version of the original 150462246093 lobster listing online where you can judge for yourself.****
 Most collectors of Rene Lalique glass will go a lifetime without ever seeing one of these Lobsters in person. And similarly, the vast majority of collectors (the ones that didn’t spring for a Cat Res) will not even see a photo of one, except of course at RLalique.com. We’d observe it’s quite a rare bird**, this Lobster is, except that observation wouldn’t seem on its face to make a lot of sense (though it really does).
Apparently there is something to checking out new Ebay listings several times a day, as many active collectors and dealers have a habit of doing, because you never know when the rare bird, or the under-priced Buy-It-Now piece will appear.
 Rumor has it that this rare AND cool Lalique Lobster flew (there goes the bird thing again, let’s say crawled?) to the UK where it will live out its life at ease, and will not be cooked.
Here’s our auction page for this great Lalique Paperweight (whatever you call it), and of course, you can access this and all other auctions we’ve ever listed, in the Past Lalique Auctions section at RLalique.com.
And to all you Ebay addicts that check the listings a dozen times a day, we say Happy Hunting (or … er… hmm …. Happy Fishing?, or maybe Happy Crustating??)!
September 11, 2010 Update: Switched Item Link To Cached Image Version
* A “rare bird” is an exceptional or unique person or thing. It became somewhat commonplace as a phrase in the mid to late 1800’s. It’s a direct translation of the Latin phrase “rara avis” which itself was in use from around 1600 and is sometimes still used in certain circles to this day, circles we read about, but don’t run in:)
** Crayfish and Spiny Lobsters are a bit different to be having one word to describe both of them but what they heck, they are related, though Crayfish live in freshwater and Spiny Lobsters in saltwater. And if any American (or anyone else) is wondering what’s the difference between a Crayfish and a Crawfish, the answer is none, except the spelling and pronunciation (though knowledgeable jingoists insist Crawfish came first!). Of course they aren’t actually fish at all, they’re crustaceans! Whatever you think, keep in mind that all this information comes from a non-seafood eating writer, so if any Cajun Crawfish lovers (love to eat, not lovers in the sense like loving your kids or your dog or your girlfriend — let’s say they “love them to death”) …. if any Cajun Crawfish lovers from Louisiana beg to differ about the no-difference thing, no offense will be taken.
****You may have to use the zoom function of your browser (or whatever program opens images for you) to get the cached image to expand in the window if it does not appear full size. After clicking on the link to the item, a new window will open with the cached image in it. On a Mac, just click on the image and see if that expands it. If not, press the apple key and click on the cached image in your browser window. On a PC, hold down the alt key while clicking on the cached image.
All Articles on These Topics: R Lalique and Rene Lalique on Ebay, R Lalique Rene Lalique Auctions News and Results, Rene Lalique Paperweights - Lalique Paperweights
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