Category
Tableware
René Lalique
Model created in 1932
Pressed glass, drawn glass stem
Property of the Lalique Museum, acquired with the support of the Fonds régional d’acquisition pour les musées (the French State/Conseil régional d’Alsace) and the Conseil général du Bas-Rhin
Between 1920 and 1939, René Lalique created dozens of table services of different types (glasses, carafes, plates, bowls, dishes, trays, ice buckets, menu holders, jam pots, etc.), but only one model of Champagne whisk. The whisk was sold in sets of six or twelve presented in a display box. The set owned by the museum has a satin-lined case. The tip of the whisk represents the grinning face of a mischievous character, in a style reminiscent of the Art Deco era.
An accessory probably invented in the Roaring Twenties to remove the bubbles from fizzy drinks, a Champagne whisk may also be called a Champagne stirrer or swizzle-stick. It has been constantly criticised for ruining the work of the wine growers who have gone to great trouble to preserve the drink’s precious carbon dioxide.
By the way: the stem of the Barr champagne glasses, created in 1924, feature a different face from the one represented on the Champagne whisk.
