Exmouth auctioneer Piers Motley writes for the Journal

Since I took over Bicton Street Auctions 11 years ago we have sold over £300,000 of Art Glass. With well known names such as Lalique,Gallé, Tiffany, Loetz and Daum there is a following all over the world.

There are also lesser known makers such as Goupy, Riedel and G. Argy Rousseau. In our first year we sold a paperweight by Rousseau modelled as a butterfly and entitled 'Papillon de Nuit'. It sold to a private buyer for £2600 plus buyer's premium and established us as a seller of fine glass.

Since then we have become the South West's largest seller of R. Lalique with over £1/4 million of sales.

René Lalique (1860 – 1945) was a French jeweller who first became established in designing for Cartier, Boucheron and others. He then established his own workshops and his innovative designs inspired by Antiquity and Japonism meant he was heralded as the "inventor of modern jewellery".

In 1907 he began a partnership with the perfumer François Coty. It was his work creating perfume bottles and devoting himself entirely to industrial glass making techniques which led him to becoming an Art Deco master glassmaker.

His works became synonymous with luxury from the outfitting of luxury rail carriages and ocean liners, to gracing dressing tables, drawing rooms, dining tables and much more.

In the South West's Art Deco National Treasure, Coleton Fishacre country house some exemplary R. Lalique 'Tulipes' wall lights can be found; typical of what the avant garde were looking for and what the likes of the D'Oyly Carte family could afford.

Our next sale on 18-20th January features a small collection including a René Lalique Suzanne Statue, model no. 833, circa 1925, which is expected to make £3000-3400 (plus 21.6% buyer's premium).

For the latest auctions, visit https://www.piersmotleyauctions.co.uk/