You would have to be pretty cold hearted not to be moved by this stunning collection of Lalique sculpted automobile mascots to be auctioned on March 10th.
Born in France in 1860, Lalique became a successful artist. In the 1920′s he understood the need to bring art into everyday life and he began mass production of his pieces, employing over 600 people at one stage.
A contemporary invention of his day, the automobile appealed to the creative mind of Lalique. Prior to WWI, the artist created bas-relief silver and bronze ‘Targa’ gift plates for winners of the famous Targa Florio races in 1906. Vincenzo Florio commissioned Lalique to design a trophy for the prestigious event. Lalique created a work that anyone would be proud to win; he captured the image of the driver and mechanic speeding down a country road bordered by flowers and birds in flight with the “sky suggested in blue enamel.” By 1920, Lalique envisioned a new goal for the automobile: an empirical decoration on the front hood, elevating glass artistic design above the metallic standard in the mascot. Once a thermometer sat on the radiator simply to measure water temperature; Lalique now proposed elegant, artistic presentation over such mere functionality.
Extensive Lalique Collection Auction
In 1925, André Citroën’s company was a primary sponsor and exhibitor for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. The motoring magnate rented the Eiffel Tower and had thousands of lights artfully attached to the structure. At night, the double chevron emblem and name “Citroen” was an extraordinary sight seen by millions of people in “The City of Lights.” Knowing he would be displaying his company’s Citroën 5CV, Citroën commissioned Lalique to create a glass mascot that could be mounted on the radiator of the car. Citroen wanted the mascot to feature five prancing horses. Thus was born Lalique’s fifth mascot, “Cinq Chevaux.”
The success of the Citroën mascot exposed his unique talent to an entirely new audience. During the next seven years, Lalique created a total of 27 mascots, symbolizing energy, speed and motion; religion; individuality and form of nature; and human sensuality and sexuality—each expressing the grace and details of human and animal forms.
The other mascots needed to complete this photographic collection include Sirène (small mermaid) and Naïade (large mermaid). Both were originally offered as paperweights in 1920 and had base sizes equaling those of other mascots. Longchamps (#1152B: horse head – single mane, a variation of longchamps #1152A: horse head – double mane) crowns the collection totaling 30 pieces. These comprise the 1932 Lalique catalogue.
Lalique Mascot collection sale
The mascots were created in high-quality glass with a clear, frosted or satin finish. Some were tinted in amethyst and pink, while others were highlighted minimally with subtle colors. Lalique marked his work, as a general practice, with “R. Lalique” followed by the word “France.” The signature clearly marks the base through molding, etching, script, print sandblasting or a curved design. Occasionally, the leading ‘L’ in the earliest cursive “Lalique” signature has a flourish at the top, which makes the letter resemble an ‘S.’
Full details of the collection to be auctioned at the Amelia Island sale can be found on the RM Auctions website here.
