Pierre d'Avesn at Verlys Art Deco Ashtray, Late 1930s

Pierre d'Avesn, was born in 1901. In the beginning, at 14 years old, he worked at Rene Lalique's for 10 years. During this period, he designed Lalique's famous "Serpent" vase as well as the "Tourbillons" vase, two of the most highly priced and extremely collectable pieces by Lalique. In 1926, he left René Lalique and created his own models. His pieces were made by Cristallerie de Saint-Rémy. In 1930, Daum Freres asked him to take the artistic direction of their molded glass department in their glassworks in Croismare, which he did until the famous strikes in 1936. In 1937, he took the management of Verlys until World War I in 1940. From 1940, he worked on his own. His pieces were made by Cristallerie de Choisy-le-Roi (Sèvres), surely the most important French glass worker for the molded glass Art pieces with René Lalique and Sabino.