The Parisian jeweller Alexis Falize made this locket. He was greatly influenced by East Asian art and in particular by cloisonné enamel work. Falize used gold rather than the copper traditionally found in cloisonné work to create designs of great delicacy and vibrant colours. He took many of his images - usually flowers and birds - from Japanese prints, but here the flowers are in the Indian style. Lockets were particularly popular items of jewellery around this time.