Lalique

Rene Lalique was a jeweller with an international reputation but in the early years of the 20th century, he was commissioned to design some perfume bottles for Coty. His fascination with glass grew and he was soon to design his own glassware. After moving to a larger workshop where he was to develop the press-moulding techniques which allowed him to create for the mass market rather than one-off high end items, he designed the several hundred vases, bowls and plates for which he is so widely known now.

Although moulded glass is often thought of as a poor cousin to mouth-blown glass, it is interesting to note that Lalique glass is still among the most expensive that you can buy. The secret lies in the intricacy of the designs, the crispness of the moulding and the quality of the detail and, of course, the magic with which he transformed birds, animals, satyrs, maidens and stylized plants into the amazing creations that he left behind.

Much of Lalique's work was in opalescent glass, which be seen here in this detail from the 'Formose' vase.