The artist César was born in Marseille on 1 January 1921. In 1943, he entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. By 1954, he had his first one-man show in the Parisian Galerie Lucien Durand. His work of the 1950s is noteworthy for its iron sculptures. During the next decade, he began his rather loose association with the "Nouveau Réalisme" movement, he demonstrated a particular affinity with Arman and Martial Raysse. At this point, he began to work extensively with scrap materials, soldering them together into sculptures. He later became interested in the possibilities of the hydraulic press, compressing objects such as cars and exhibiting the end product as such. These works were referred to as "compressions". The present pendant, a more precious "compression", is an example of art translated into the realm of jewellery. César's foray into this field was not undertaken when these sculptures were initially produced, but rather in the early 1970s.