Glass act

René Lalique turned his skills as a jeweller into creating works of art. Eric Knowles describes how his mascots became a driving force

Car mascots have been around since the earliest days of the motor car when they were produced in a huge variety of fanciful forms in various metals and primarily for no specific model of car.

Enter René Jules Lalique. By 1900, Lalique was recognised as France’s premier jeweller, but then he became fascinated by the allure of glass.

By 1925 he had established his credentials as France’s foremost industrial glassmaker and designer, offering a dazzling repertoire of both useful and decorative glass.

Lalique had a choice of using the prestigious ‘Cristal’ that included 24% lead oxide or ‘Demi Crystal’ where the lead oxide content was reduced to 12%. His preference was for Demi Crystal as it offered a greyish hue whilst allowing for softer definition of decorative detail.

Following René’s death in 1945, and the re-opening of the company’s Alsace-based Wingen Sur Moder glass works, following the Nazi occupation, his son Marc Lalique opted to switch to a full-lead cristal that shows a brighter and whiter hue and which remains the present day choice.

In 1925, the French car manufacture Citroën had managed to pull off a truly amazing advertising coup. On the night of 4^th July, thousands of Parisians gazed in disbelief as 250,000 light bulbs were switched on and emblazoned the Eiffel Tower with the name CITROEN.

A hard act to follow maybe but that same year the Citroën motor company approached Lalique to design and manufacture a glass car mascot for the launch of their Cinq Chevaux – Vapeur model.

"On the night of the 4^th July [1925] thousands of Parisians gazed in disbelief as 250,000 lights emblazoned the Eiffel Tower with the name Citroën"

Lalique responded with a remarkable design in clear and frosted glass that featured the profiles of five rearing horses suggestive of both horsepower and speed.

The owner of the company, André Citroën, was said to be totally enthralled by Lalique’s imaginative creation.

Lalique went on to design 31 car mascots in his lifetime, but only 30 went into production and not for any particular car maker but for his own ‘Maison Lalique’ sale catalogue.

What followed was his eminently stylish ‘Comète Etoile’ Filante’ fashioned as a five-point star, an inferred sense of speed reinforced by its integral flared tail.

It appears that the veritable explosion of the designs, that he introduced over five years, followed no thematic order and all were available in clear and polished glass, although several were also produced in optional opalescent or semi-translucent coloured glass.

Certain clear mascots are known to have inherited a distinctive amethyst hue which is due to an internal chemical reaction because of continual exposure to strong sunlight.

Lalique’s choice of subjects mirror his interest with nature to include the animal, bird and insect worlds.

Amongst these birds are a swallow (Hirondelle), a falcon (Faucon), cockerels in various forms, an eagle's head (Tetê de Aigle), and the rarest of all bird subjects an owl (Hibou).

The latter was a relatively late subject when introduced in 1931, the bird is modelled with a quizzing posture and an inquisitive face that suggests something of a nod by Lalique to ancient Greek coinage.

The animal mascots were just as popular, with Lalique's menagerie including a ram’s head (Tetê de Belier) a Wild Boar (Sanglier) and three individual racehorses: ‘Epsom’ and ‘Longchamp’ A and ‘Longchamp' B. Apparently Lalique decided that he didn't like the double mane he used on Longchamp ‘A’ and settled for a single mane on Longchamp ‘B’. Both versions display characteristics akin to the horses that feature on the Elgin marbles in the British Museum where Lalique visited when in London.

The Lalique mascot that might be seen to offer the most dramatic expression of speed is Victoire, forever referred to by collectors, dealers and Lalique enthusiasts alike as the ‘Spirit of the Wind’. Featuring the head of an open-mouthed Amazon, the sense of drama is heightened by her stylised windswept hair.

Had René Lalique the temerity to suggest that purchasing and fitting this mascot to the radiator cap on your car would indeed make your vehicle go even faster, few would have taken issue with the great man.

My time at Bonhams from porter to director spanned the years 1976 to 2009 during which I pioneered specialist auctions of Lalique glass and travelled extensively meeting collectors, dealers and believe it or not people who met René Lalique.

The Peacock (Tete de Paon) in this collection reminded me of the first example I was asked to sell more than 35 years ago.

The owner had bought an ageing Rolls Royce in the early 1960s with the peacock mascot already in situ on the radiator cap, but eventually removed and relegated it to the rear of his garage with little regard before being replaced with the now required ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’.

Once consigned, it sold for more than he had paid for the Rolls all those years ago.

"If only the mascots could speak, what fascinating tales they might tell"

A week or so after the auction I received a package and letter from the seller that contained the original logbook to pass on to the successful buyer. I opened the logbook to discover that the first owner was a lady, and her name was a certain ‘Miss Peacock’.

If only the mascots in Simon Khachadourian’s collection could speak, what fascinating tales they might tell.

Eric Knowles FRSA is author of Lalique and Lalique: Cristal 99.

Modern Decorative Art & Design | 19 December 2024, New York

For enquiries, contact Derya Baydur on Derya.Baydur@bonhams.com or +19172061615