This piece is part of the Royal College of Art Visiting Artists Collection. Every year from 1987 to 2006, while David Watkins was Professor of Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery at the RCA, he invited four jewellers and silversmiths from outside Britain to give a week-long masterclass. The artists brought diverse skills, aesthetics and approaches. The first call on their time was to interact closely with the students. In addition, although concentrating on their teaching and working in an unfamiliar studio, each artist generously made an object for the RCA's collection. The Royal College of Art Visiting Artists Collection, now transferred to the V&A, is a major document of international contemporary jewellery, a tribute both to the artists and to the vibrancy of the RCA as a teaching institution.

Gijs Bakker's innovative use of plastics in jewellery dates back to the 1960s when, with his wife the jeweller Emmy van Leersum he was at the forefront of Dutch experimental jewellery. His influence in jewellery design remains international while his engagement with wider design issues can be seen in Droog Design which he co-founded in 1993.

This particular neckpiece was designed in 1987 while Bakker was using the production facilities at the Royal College of Art as part of a residency. The reclining figure is Adam from the Creation scene by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The use of laminated photographs has been a central element of his work since the 1980s.