L’Effleurt perfume bottle

René Lalique
1912
Bottle and stopper : mould blown glass with patina
Property of Lalique SA

François Coty brought new vision to the perfume industry in the first half of the 20th century. After commissioning the Baccarat crystalworks for his first perfume bottles, he subsequently enlisted the skills of René Lalique. The collaboration with Coty proved a powerful springboard for Lalique’s career as a master glassmaker, and also marked his transition to industrial glassmaking.

In 1908, René Lalique designed a label for the L’Effleurt perfume bottle. After an initial paper version, he went on to produce a glass label that was applied to a Baccarat crystal bottle using hot melt glue. A few years later, in 1912, René Lalique designed his own version of the bottle, to which the label was applied directly, and given a patina. The stopper – which also had a patina – was enhanced with two cicadas.

The image René Lalique chose for the bottle was typical of the Art Nouveau style, and inspired by the name of the perfume, L’Effleurt, which in turn was probably inspired by the French words les fleurs (flowers), effluve (fragrance), or effleurer (to brush or graze lightly). It features a diaphanous female form flowing in the air like a fragrant haze.

By the way: You can see the L’Effleurt bottle in the museum’s permanent collections, but also in the temporary exhibition, The Invention of Modern Perfume, until 3 November 2019!