RM Auction is selling off a lot of Lalique hood ornaments ("mascots") collected by Ele Chesney. They're as lovely a collection of deco beasties as you'll find anywhere.
In 1925, André Citroën's company was a primary sponsor and exhibitor for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris. The motoring magnate rented the Eiffel Tower and had thousands of lights artfully attached to the structure. At night, the double chevron emblem and name "Citroen" was an extraordinary sight seen by millions of people in "The City of Lights." Knowing he would be displaying his company's Citroën 5CV, Citroën commissioned Lalique to create a glass mascot that could be mounted on the radiator of the car. Citroen wanted the mascot to feature five prancing horses. Thus was born Lalique's fifth mascot, "Cinq Chevaux."
The success of the Citroën mascot exposed his unique talent to an entirely new audience. During the next seven years, Lalique created a total of 27 mascots, symbolizing energy, speed and motion; religion; individuality and form of nature; and human sensuality and sexuality—each expressing the grace and details of human and animal forms.
The other mascots needed to complete this photographic collection include Sirène (small mermaid) and Naïade (large mermaid). Both were originally offered as paperweights in 1920 and had base sizes equaling those of other mascots. Longchamps (#1152B: horse head – single mane, a variation of longchamps #1152A: horse head – double mane) crowns the collection totaling 30 pieces. These comprise the 1932 Lalique catalogue.
The Lalique Mascot Collection of Ele Chesney
(via How to Be a Retronaut)
