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René Lalique Plique-à-Jour Enamel "L'Anémone de Bois" Brooch
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Designed, modeled and carved by René Lalique himself, this flora brooch, entitled "L'Anémone de Bois," is a work of genius showcasing Lalique's early explorations in plique-à-jour enamel and pressed glass set in gold. Accented by two large oval-cut aquamarines, this brooch was the first in an emotive series of jewels exploring courtship and celebrating the old-growth forests of his childhood in Marnes, and was considered a critical triumph at the 1898 Salon. Lalique's unrivaled enamel work in this jewel, jade green with exquisite shading and delicacy, exemplifies the artistic sensitivity and technical acuity that established his reputation as the "Master of Modern Jewelry."
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: BO-19326
Artist: René Lalique, Paris
Country: France
Circa: 1897
Size: 2.5” length, 2.75” width
Materials: 2 Oval-cut aquamarines (weight approximately 8.10 carats set on the pendant drop, and 3.75 carats set on the brooch top); 40 Old European-cut diamonds (approximate total weight 1.80 carats); Plique-à-jour enamel; Molded glass; 18K Gold
Signed: “Lalique”
Literature: Art et Décoration, by Henri Vever (1898), Volume 1, praised the jewel’s exquisite leaves and petals as conveying nature’s "infinitely complicated and precious architecture" on pp. 169-178
In his early years, René Lalique personally designed and modeled each mold for his creations in clay—they were then cast in iron and coated with a paste of resin and beeswax, hand-tooled for detail. The finish pressed-glass jewel was submerged in a bath of hydrofluoric acid, frosting the exterior.