(2) French Crystal Decorative Objects. One is a hexagonal ashtray marked Val Saint Lambert on the underside. The other is a small tiered hexagonal candleholder marked Baccarat on the underside in the middle and on the edge. 

Size: 6 3/4 x 6 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. 

Baccarat Glass was established in 1765 by the Bishop of Metz who wanted to encourage industry in the small village of Baccarat 250 miles east of Paris, France. The Verrerie de Sainte Anne at Baccarat made all kinds of utility glassware and survived the French Revolution but struggled through the Napoleonic Wars (1812-1815), after the shifting borders of Europe following the Wars placed the great French glassworks at Voneche in Northern France within the newly created country of Belgium. The owner of Voneche, a Parisian named Aime-Gabriel D’Artigues, bought the Baccarat glassworks so that he could re-establish his business in France and continue to serve French customers without paying heavy import taxes, and the newly named Voneche-Baccarat focused on high quality lead-crystal glass. In 1822 D’Artigues sold the glassworks and the new owners set up the Compagnie des Cristalleries de Baccarat (keeping Voneche as part of the name until 1843). After winning medals at major exhibitions in Paris in 1823, the company soon became the foremost glassworks in France, and the little town of Baccarat is now almost exclusively dedicated to glassworking through factories, museums, and shops, having become a destination for tourists the world over. 

In 1802, at Napoleon’s request, Henri D’Artigues established a successful lead crystal factory at Vonêche in annexed Belgium, which became the French empire’s most important crystal producer. Following Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, new import duties caused D'Artigues to shift operations to Baccarat, France, while two key workers from Vonêche, François Kemlin and Auguste Lelièvre, purchased the former Val-Saint-Lambert Abbey site in 1825 and founded a new glassworks. Following the Belgian Revolution the Vonêche factory closed and most of its employees relocated to the new Val Saint Lambert site, which developed into a self-contained village for its workers. The company grew into an internationally renowned brand, reaching its peak between 1900 and 1914, employing over 5,000 workers, but faced significant challenges during both World War I and the Great Depression, which forced closures and contractions. Despite being bombed during World War II, production resumed and the company was saved by exports to North America, and today Val Saint Lambert continues to produce glass art at its original Seraing facility, holding a royal warrant from King Albert II.

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