Glass Source of Telphuse Fountain Figure by René Lalique

Source of the "Telphuse" fountain, model created on [April 29, 1924], initially designed for the Fontaine des Sources de France for the 1925 Paris Exhibition, deleted from the 1937 catalog Important statuette resting on its original wooden base .
Proof in pressed molded white glass, partly satin-finished. Original terrace in rosewood veneer.
Total height 53 cm with wooden base.
Statue height 47 cm

Bibliography: “R. Lalique, catalog raisonné of glass works” by Félix Marcilhac. Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2004.
Identical model reproduced on page 402

. History: The initial model of this statuette was one of those which adorned the “Fontaine des Sources de France” created by René Lalique in collaboration with the architect Marc Ducluzaud. This luminous fountain, which included one hundred and twenty-eight caryatids of sixteen different models, was presented during the Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925 on the Esplanade des Invalides (facing the Cour des Métiers). given the significant cost of dismantling (100,000 francs at the time), once the event was over, René Lalique chose to offer it to the City of Paris. She declined the offer considering that it was difficult to leave her alone in front of the austere Invalides monument. In February 1926, the artist decided to dismantle it on his own and after recovering the statuettes, he put them on sale in his store (giving them the names of muses) to amortize the costs of creating this masterpiece. artwork. The success was such that new ones had to be made for several years to meet demand.