From time to time I see a show stopper. Viewing the exhibit commemorating the profoundly important Art Deco 1925 exhibition now open (November 2025) at MAD at the Louvre in Paris, this Lalique centerpiece with frogs and fish caught my eye. It’s powerful, a little crazy, and a tad scary. The way Lalique used glass to stylize the water and thus emphasize its flow and optical effects is brilliant.

Lalique made it around 1905, in a part of the show that explores the roots of the Art Deco style. The use of glass together with metal reminds me of how powerful these two materials are when they work together—I’ve long argued that the glass and gold mask of Tutankhamen is perhaps the first glass masterpiece (along with his throne).

I’ve also argued that the roots of studio glass are at the beginning of the 20th century in works like this. After all, the innate alliance of glass and metal inherent in Art Deco style inspired work by artists like Michael Glancy and Dan Dailey.

And let’s not overlook the great copper wheel (I assume) engraving! Without that this wouldn’t be a masterpiece.

René Lalique (1860-1945),
verrier
Surtout “Grenouilles et poissons”
France, vers 1905
Verre moulé et taillé, bronze argenté
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Don Gérard Nobel, 1960, inv. 38320