Plaque, Narcissus
c. 1899-1900
gold, enamel, glass
Private Collection
New York

René Lalique (1860-1945) has been called the greatest artist-jeweler since the Renaissance. In the 1890s, a time when most jewelers displayed diamonds and pearls in glittering profusion, Lalique began to create subtle, painterly effects by combining opals, baroque pearls, semi-precious colored stones, glass, and enamel. He raised jewelry to the level of a fine art, using his amazing technical virtuosity to realize a very personal imagery based equally in dream and nature. Many of Lalique's jewels were unique masterpieces, some almost too eccentric to be worn. They were made for a select clientele of collectors and ladies of fashion. When these marvels were revealed to a wider public at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris, they brought Lalique fame throughout Europe and America.

Hailed as the first maker of fine jewelry to work in the Art Nouveau style, Lalique broke with past traditions and created the first truly "modern" jewels. Always an innovator, he experimented constantly with new techniques and unusual materials. Glass, in particular, captured Lalique's imagination, and he used it in his jewels. By 1910, he had turned his full attention to glass making. He revolutionized that field as well, reinventing himself for the 20th century as a designer of jewel-like glass vessels and large-scale architectural components meant for industrial production. Today the name Lalique has become synonymous with elegant artistry in glass.