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René Lalique "Mice" Brooch
Created circa 1907-1908 by René Lalique, this charming mice or "souris" brooch is composed of diamonds, platinum, enamel and pressed glass. On each curling end of a line of choice old diamonds, mounted in expertly à-joured platinum, perch crystal mice with enamel tails. A subtle study in whites, this imaginative brooch by René Lalique blends precious and ordinary materials of contrasting textures, both visual and tactile.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: BO-21460
Artist: René Lalique
Country: France
Circa: 1907-08
Dimensions: 1.5" length, 3.75" width.
Materials: 95 old mine-cut diamonds (with approximate total weight 5.7 carats); Platinum
Exhibition History: René Lalique 1860-1945, Sogo Museum of Art Yokohama, Aug. 26,2000 - Oct. 29. 2000, Tokyp Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Nov. 11, 2000-Feb. 4, 2001, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Feb. 14., 2001-Apr. 15, 2001 page 127.
The Jewels of Lalique, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsomnian Institution, New York, February 3- April 12, 1998, International Gallery, Smithsonian Insitution, Washington, D.C., May 15-Aigust 16, 1998 and Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, September 13, 1998-January 10, 1999, cat. 135
Literature: Sigrid Barten, Schmuck und Objets d'Art 1890-1910, p. 438, cat. no. 1190.
The brooch is illustrated in The Jewels of Lalique, Yvinne Brunhammer, ed., p. 192, cat no. 135.
The original box bears the address of his Cours la Reine atelier as well as his showrooms on the Place Vendôme, where he held jewelry exhibitions until 1912. Lalique’s notes on the surviving sketch reveal that the mice are backed with white enamel, lending luminosity to their forms, and creating a charming jewel combining humble animals formed of glass with superb little diamonds.