Calouste Gulbenkian (1869-1955)，the famous Portuguese collector，was a friend of René Lalique's for fifty years，as well as a great connoisseur of the various activities of this versatile artist.Between 1899 and 1927 he acquired eighty extraordinary works of art directly from the artist.Today，these are conserved in an exclusive space inside the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon.This unrepeatable collection of jewelery，art objects，artistic glass，and drawings，being published for the first-time in a large format catalogue gives the reader a complete and exhaustive idea of the entire artistic activity of Lalique.

The eighty pieces now presented in this album are exhibited in a room especially dedicated to the work of Rend Lalique，a space that chronologically closes-the itinerary of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.The set of jewels，drawings，objets d'art and glassware acquired by the Collector directly from the artist，with a single exception，between 1899 and 1927.is well representative of Lalique's world.

Rene Lalique (1860-1945) and Calouste Gulbenkian (1869-1955) shared the experience of a time marked by the fascinating!transition of the so-called Belle Epoque-with its particular end-of-the-century spirit，present mainly on the remarkable set of Art Nouveau works.Both men were tied by friendship and/mutual consideration，well evidenced in the words of the Collector： My admiration for his unique work mcreased throughout the fifty years our friendship lasted…I am proud to own，I believe，the largest unmber of Lalique's works…”.