Doos "Houppes" 1921

This glass box, by René Lalique, is a delicate, dreamy object. Its opalescent surface shifts and shimmers like moonlight on water, a testament to Lalique’s mastery of glass as a medium. The box feels both solid and ethereal. Its surface is smooth but alive with subtle variations in tone and texture. Dandelions, barely there, seem to float within the glass itself. Look closely, and you’ll notice how the light catches the edges of each tiny seed head, giving them a ghostly presence. It’s like looking at a memory, hazy and indistinct, yet full of emotional resonance. Lalique was a jeweler before he turned to glass, and you can see that sensibility here. His work reminds me of that of Louis Comfort Tiffany, who also worked with glass to create fantastical, otherworldly objects. But where Tiffany’s work is often opulent and ornate, Lalique’s has a quiet, understated elegance. It invites you to slow down, to look closely, and to find beauty in the everyday.