Tags
Art Nouveau, auction house, Cactus, Dordrecht, Glass, Jugendstil, Mak, Open Monumenten Dagen, René Lalique, Rotterdam
Do you remember the post about my visit to the Lalique exhibition in The Hague a few weeks ago? I was rather disappointed because there was hardly any jewellery on display, while jewellery is what René Lalique (1860-1945) was most famous for!
However, once I had overcome my disappointment, I could actually enjoy the designs Lalique made for his glass objects. Time allowed Lalique to produce glass objects in a more industrial way, while his qualities as a designer elevated his objects to ‘industrial luxury products’.
From all the objects displayed at the exhibition, I loved the perfume bottle ‘Cactus’ most. In 1937 Lalique had been commissioned to design a promotional gift for the first class passengers of the Rotterdam Lloyd Shipping Company. For the ladies he designed a perfume bottle, for the men a paperweight. There were a lot of issues between Lalique and Lloyd regarding the design and the price, but in 1938, 5.000 Cactus perfume bottles and 5.000 paperweights were delivered in Rotterdam. However in May 1940, when WWII started, most of Rotterdam was destroyed and only a few bottles survived the bombardment. The ones that did survive the war were later transformed into pansies vases (they cut off the bottlenecks – see top picture).
Now, during the Open Monumenten Dagen (National Heritage Days) last weekend, we accidentally walked into an auction viewing at auction house Mak. And what do you know…. there was that lovely perfume bottle from Lalique again!
Back home I immediately downloaded the auction catalogue and registered at the auction house in order to be able to place a bid during the auction today. I was very excited as this was my first auction. I had my strategy worked out at home: I would wait until I was sure nobody would bid anymore, and only then raise my hand. I wouldn’t be the one driving the price up. And I did well! I acquired my very own Lalique Cactus for a ridiculously low price and I am a happy person!!!
My very own Lalique ‘Cactus’
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Signature R.Lalique Perfume Bottle Cactus for Rotterdam Lloyd Royal Dutch Mail
Links
Auction House Mak, Dordrecht
DJL Lalique International
RLalique.com The Worldwide Gathering Place Of R.Lalique Enthusiasts
About Art Nouveau 
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Hi SEISHONAGON3!
Today I came across a R. Lalique Cactus and I was blown away by the design and the quality. I immediately started researching how to identify if it’s fake.
However, I’m still not entirely sure if it’s made pre or post war – (I’ll definitely visit the gallery again and take a few pics of the signature).
So, although I had a look at various websites for R. Lalique signatures – Could you please post or email me the signature of your cactus perfume bottle? That would be of great help!
Much appreciated,
Dimitris
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Dear Dimitris,
How nice to hear that you have also fallen in love with Lalique’s beautiful Cactus!
I had not realised the modern Lalique Company has reproduced René Lalique’s cactus design after his death, so I needed to get more information before I could give you a correct answer. The website I found most helpfull is this one: https://rlalique.com/rene-lalique-cactus-perfume-bottle
As you can see, they have added a lot of information since I published my post.
Apparently, René Lalique produced the cactus in 1928 in size 10 cm (bottom to top of stopper) and again in 1934 in size 12 cm. My cactus perfume bottle is 10 cm.
According to the above mentioned website, René Lalique signed his objects with R.Lalique France while his son dropped the R. when he continued production after his father’s death. https://rlalique.com/lalique-france-signatures-for-modern-lalique-crystal.php My cactus perfume bottle has R.Lalique France written on it.
Also, the bottles specifically produced for the first class passengers of the Rotterdam Lloyd Shipping Company have a distinct marking on the bottom of the bottle: ROTTERDAM LLOYD ROYAL DUTCH MAIL
(I cannot post a picture in this comment, so I will add a picture of the bottom of my own bottle for you in the above post.)
I hope this is helping you with your investigation. Please keep us posted!
Kindest regards,
Olga
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