A RARE CLUNY VASE, NO. 961

The Cluny vase is one of only two vases by René Lalique to incorporate bronze handles. In the Senlis vase the handles are modelled as branches with foliage. By contrast in the current lot the arrangement is more complex with the bronze of the hair both framing and supporting the Medusa masks, before rising as serpents which threaten to bite the top rim.