René Lalique is synonymous with early-modernist design. Originally trained as a jeweller, he discovered glass in the 1890s as a new medium to enhance his intricate designs.(1) In 1905, he focused more intensely on glassmaking, and in 1907 was commissioned to design the perfume bottles for François Coty. During his collaboration with Coty, he created bottles adorned with classical female figures, elongated floral patterns and animal motifs, producing iconic Art Nouveau designs. 
Until the 1920s, Lalique worked almost exclusively in the 'lost wax' method of casting to make unique works. With strong demand from a burgeoning upper-middle class, he changed his production techniques in 1921, opening a factory in northeast France which still runs today. Flourishing in the interwar period, the glassworks pioneered new mechanized techniques. A site of proto-mass-production, the new factory allowed Lalique to recast his designs in a variety of colours and finishes, from jewel-like red to frosted grey. Some pieces were particularly rare for their hue, transparency or patina and serve as a testament to the flexibility afforded in Lalique’s production methods. By the end of the 1920s, his factory was an epicentre of French decorative art: combining the seemingly disparate poles of luxury décor and mass reproduction.  
Lalique glass is lead-based, either mould-blown or pressed. Favoured motifs during the Art Nouveau period included dancing nymphs, fish, dragonflies and foliage. Most glass was clear or opalescent and signed via engraving or in the mould as ‘R. Lalique’. The ‘R. Lalique’ signature was only used until 1945, with the death of Lalique. At that time, René Lalique's son Marc took over the company. Production of many pieces produced prior to 1945 ceased following René's death, although some are still in production albeit with a different marking. The firm is still in operation today.
This vase, in the form of a coiled serpent, is made from dark amber frosted and moulded glass. Although later editions were produced and are still available, they do not have the same quality of surface and colour that is seen in this vase. Its rarity is also indicated by the inscription ‘R. Lalique’ on the base.
'Marcilhac 896' refers to the catalogue raisonne number in Félix Marcilhac, René Lalique, maître-verrier, 1860–1945: analyse de l'œuvre et catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1989.

Material prepared by Abigail Bernal, Assistant Curator, International Art, July 2019.

Endnote

1. Bushra Muhammadi, 'René Lalique’s Glass: Second Factory', accessed 3 April 2018,  http://scalar.usc.edu/works/rene-laliques-glass/index/