Topic: Lalique Koi dish

[Auld_Hecate]

Hello, first time poster on this forum - apologies if I make any faux pas (including the slap-dash backdrop in the pictures!)

I've inherited this interesting cast dish with (what I assume are) Koi fish on the base.

It's marked 'R Lalique France' and has 'No 356' hand-etched very faintly. It measures 365mm diameter, 25mm deep.

It's obviously had a productive life - a fair few scratches in the bowl.

So I'm assuming it is an actual Lalique (though could be wrong even on that count!), but can't find anything regarding the production number, which might help date the piece. I'd be interested to know if it would have been one of a series produced.

I'm also interested in the technique that gives the fish the misty appearance.

Any information would be greatfully received to fill-in the backstory to this nice dish.

Many thanks,

Will

[Anne Tique]

Hello,

You have got a Martigues bowl, the fish are mullets.

https://rlalique.com/rene-lalique-martigues-bowl

Signatures are explained over here...

https://rlalique.com/lalique-signatures.php

What the scratches concerns... you can have it polished and it will all be gone, shouldn't cost you too much...i usually pay €10-€15, but I don't know if this is a regular price or my contact is trying to tell me something...

Items that I tend to keep for myself, I treat with Armorall vinyl/dashboard spray for the car ... leaves a thin film of vinyl that hides the majority of scratches and limescale that can't be polished out... you spray and wipe till dry... also useful for your car

[bat20]

Hi all,I've recently moved to another belfry so apologies for not contributing to the forum much recently,but to my eye these fish are gurnard,much underrated in this country which is a shame because it's delicious.

[Anne Tique]

That's the same no? Rouget in French =  mullet in English... when I translate gurnard it comes up as rouget... My head's starting to spin...

[bat20]

Hi Anne,I think Rouget is red mullet and Rene could well have been told by the fish monger that he was buying mullet for his pre design sketches and for me it only goes to show what a great eye he had,but I think he bought some gurnard

[Auld_Hecate]

Brilliant- many thanks Anne.

Those links are invaluable.

Assuming the numbering is chronological, I'm assuming it dates to the early 1930s, comparing it to one of the examples listed.

Worth a polish indeed.

Thanks!

[Anne Tique]

Assuming the numbering is chronological, I'm assuming it dates to the early 1930s, comparing it to one of the examples listed.

I believe that this, putting a date on this bowl, is done according to the signature... certain signatures refer to certain periods, certain models were produced longer than others, but you should be able to work that out via the links.

[chopin-liszt]

In answer to what makes the fish "misty", it is made from opalescent glass. This requires the addition of potash (and sometimes arsenic), into the hot glass which is what produces the "colour" effects.
It will look misty, milky blue with light bouncing off it, but when held up to the light, so that the light comes through the glass, you will find it has an inner "firey glow2 of ambers and reds - much like sunset colours!
How dense the glass is will affect the effect.

[Mike M]

Lovely bowl -quite valuable

I may be a purist but if I were you I'd not touch the scratches its a 80 years old piece of tableware - without scratches it will look a bit like re-silvered silver plate! -also you can always get the scratches taken out at a later time- if needed, but you cannot add back 80 years of wear/use.

The opalescence is actually ultra tiny bubbles formed by differential cooling (yes the potash and arsenic helps but without the right cooling you'd get almost clear glass -or big crack!) That is why the opalescence forms only in the thicker parts of the glass  -in this case the fish.

cheers
Mike   

[chopin-liszt]

Thanks Mike, for this fascinating information.
I didn't know that, and am really pleased to have learned about it.