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a glass vase sitting on a table with a black backgrounda black and white photo of a sign on the ground
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29 - René LALIQUE (1860–1945).
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Estimate €15,000 - €30,000
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Description
René LALIQUE (1860–1945). “Palestre” A moulded, blown white satin-finish glass vase, encircled by a frieze of young athletes. Created on 9 July 1928. Signed on the reverse “R. Lalique France” H_41 cm BIBLIOGRAPHY: Félix Marcilhac, “René Lalique, catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre de verre”, Les Éditions de l’Amateur, Paris, 2011; the piece is listed and illustrated under no. 1012, p. 441. Illustrated in grey on page 115 of the catalogue. Expert: Mr Marc Lallement, Expert at the CNES. Assisted by Ms Élisabeth Bolland, Consultant. In the Greek gymnasium, the ‘palestra’ refers to the area dedicated to men’s wrestling training. The subject of our vase evokes the ancient ideal of a well-rounded individual, equally skilled in the arts as in combat and action. In Greek art, the figure of the athlete is not merely the archetype of physical beauty, a ‘gift from the gods’: it also visibly embodies wisdom and virtue. Recognisable by his nudity, the athlete has adorned Euphronios’s vases since the 5th century BC, thus affirming the ideal union of body and mind. René Lalique, in turn, followed in this long tradition. In his work, the athletes appear in motion, captured in the throes of exertion, as on the doors of his studio on the Cours de la Reine in Paris in 1902. Struggling figures also adorn the steps of Jacques Doucet’s residence in 1912. But in our model, it is rest that exalts their virile beauty: a calm, controlled, self-assured strength. A beauty all the more moving for that it seems to reveal the beauty of the soul. The contours of the heroic figures are delicately emphasised by a sepia patina, which draws a subtle boundary with the opalescent void of their glass matrix. By reinterpreting this theme, as ancient as Western art itself, René Lalique places himself squarely within classical culture—the very culture that has bequeathed to us a taste for beauty and a love of light, when it serves as a reflection of the spirit.
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About the sale René Lalique: Memories of a Workshop
Auction location
Auction time 09/27/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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