Arethuse Pendant, Clear Crystal, Vermeil

For a fountain René Lalique created in 1935 this woman's face with an aquatic headdress inspired by the myth of Arethusa. It embodies the imaginative power of its creator who was fascinated by women and nature. Trained as a jeweler at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Paris in the late 1880's, Rene Lalique gained recognition as an independent designer for some of the era's great jewelry houses including Cartier and Boucheron. Eventually, he turned to glassmaking, and his techniques were a triumph for the Art Deco movement. Every piece of Lalique is finely detailed and produced by hand in Alsace, France.