In 1895, René Lalique (1860-1945), who had previously worked for such famous jewellers as Boucheron, Vever and Cartier, exhibited at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français. From then on he only workerd under his own name. His newly-won independence was almost immediately reflected in his jewellery, both in terms of materials and motifs used: he extended his repertoire to enamel, horn, ivory and glass with a subtle colour range. He had a preference of depicting objects, especially the human figure as well as flora and fauna and later also landscapes. Sculptural work became an important part of his jewels and due to its frequent and talented use he was also called a statuaire du bijou, an artist who is not only versed in goldsmithing and colouring but also in sculpture. Lalique was fascinated by the human form and movement, especially by wrestling human figures. However, the motif or reason is hardly ever straight-forward but is open to interpretation. This is also the case with the present brooch: two maidens are wrestling, half pulling, half pushing each other. One seems wanting to escape whereas the other seems to embrace the first, not only with her arms but also with her long textured gold hair, so that composition and topic merge together.