(3) Glass Perfume Bottles.
1 Lalique and 2 Sabino glass.
Tallest Size: 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.
Lalique is a French luxury glassmaker, founded by renowned glassmaker and jeweler René Lalique (1860-1945) in 1888. Lalique is best known for producing glass art, including perfume bottles, vases, and hood ornaments during the early 20th Century. René began his career as a jewelry apprentice at the age of 16, and by 1881 he was a freelance designer for many of the best-known Parisian jewelers. In 1885 he opened his own workshop on Place Gaillon in Paris, the former workshop of Jules Destape. In 1887 Lalique opened a business on Rue du Quatre-Septembre, and registered the “RL” mark the following year when he founded the Lalique brand. Within a decade Lalique was one of the best known jewelers, and remained so until René’s death. Lalique transitioned to producing lead glass (crystal) works during the 1950s while under the direction of René’s son Marc, operating as “M. Lalique” and later as “Cristal Lalique.” Marie-Claude Lalique took control of the company following Marc’s death in 1977. It was sold to Pochet in 1994, and became part of the Swiss partnership of Art & Fragrance and the holding company Financière Saint-Germain in 2008. Since 2010, Cristal Lalique has been wholly owned by Art & Fragrance, who rebranded them in 2016 as Lalique Group SA. The company is ultimately owned by Silvio Denz, an entrepreneur and Swiss national. Today, Lalique produces an array of luxury products in five main categories: jewelry, decorative items, interior design, perfumes, and art. The company’s sole remaining production facility is the Cristallerie Lalique in Wingen-sur-Moder. It was opened in 1921 as the Verrerie d’Alsace (Alsace Glassworks) and given its present name in 1962.
Marius Ernest Sabino was born in Sicily in 1878, but at the age of four his family moved to Paris, France, where his father was working as a wood sculptor. His father trained him in the art early on, and he studied at L’Ecole Nationale des Arts Decoratifs as well as the Beaux Arts de Paris before working for several years as an assistant bronze sculptor. When World War I broke out he volunteered to fight, and during the war he became fascinated with glass due to the emerging electric-lighting industry and the role it played on the battlefield. He returned to Paris in 1920 and founded a company which manufactured bronze and wood light fittings, turning to focus on glass within a few years. His biggest selling item, and the one for which he became world famous, was his opalescent glasswork, usually vases and statuettes. During the 1930s they operated two production facilities and had several retail stores throughout the French capital, winning awards at international exhibitions each year. Production came to a screeching halt when World War II broke out, and after it ended Sabino handed control of the company to his nephew. In the post-War years the level of arsenic used in their glass was diminished, which unfortunately lowered the opalescent effect, and their earlier items are now highly sought after by collectors for their distinctive look. Their market also shifted substantially after the War, with much of it going to American retailers. In 1961 Sabino died, and in 1978 his nephew sold the entire operation, including all their molds and formulas, to the company’s American agent Richard Choucroun, who started the Sabino Crystal Company in Houston, Texas. Production continues to this day in France, with all pieces imported to their American headquarters and distributed worldwide from there.
