'Wooded landscape' choker plaque

This plaque for a choker is the first jewel that Calouste Gulbenkian purchased from René Lalique. It shows a landscape by a lake and is made with plaques of opal, a stone that the artist liked enormously and used widely in his jewels. The theme – a natural landscape – delighted both the artist and the collector. Gulbenkian purchased the piece in 1899 with the promise that he would loan it to appear at the Universal Exhibition in 1900, where Lalique’s reputation was established.

This rectangular plaque shows a landscape of trees and ivy in gold and enamel, next to a lake of iridescent opals enriched with a series of small diamonds set in gold that form the banks. The entire choker consists of three plaques linked by hinges that help the jewel adapt to the curves of the female neck.