Self-Portrait Box - Holding Place

Materials: Sterling silver, mirror, camera lens
Dimensions: 30mm diameter, 34mm height

Sterling silver round box with mirror on inside base, vintage Kodak portrait attachment camera lens as lid. Text stamped on exterior (dictionary definition of a portrait).

Photo credit: Naomi Muirhead

Naomi Rachel Muirhead
art925
Florence, FI. Italy

Naomi makes jewelry and collages utilizing vintage ephemera, Italian maps, letters, photos, watch parts, game pieces, found objects, furniture and other materials, repurposed for a new life while honoring the past imprint of the object’s history. Each piece is unique, hand-made, and can be customized.

Originally from the Chicago area, she has also resided in Madrid, Seattle, San Francisco, and lives and works in Florence, Italy since 2000 where she teaches university-level jewelry courses. She has degrees in painting, interior architecture, jewelry arts, and has exhibited and sold her work in the US and Europe.


These containers and vessels definitely hold their place in the world of stunning art objects as well as in the world of metalsmithing.

Since the dawn of time humans have created containers to hold things that were important to them, from large vessels to hold food and harvests to intimate containers for small precious things. They might hold memories, ashes, medicine, beverage, fruit or food - but all spring from the imagination and skill of the maker. Some have specific religious functions, some are meant for everyday use. When one thinks of a vessel or container the inclination is to think of something with solid walls - yet many of these works involve the exploration of positive and negative space, and the use of negative space to help create the illusion of the wall of the vessel.

As the world’s largest jewelry related internet site, Ganoksin strives to develop exhibitions showcasing work from around the world. This exhibition was open to all metalsmiths, professional and amateur, advanced and beginner. Participants are from The Netherlands, the USA, Canada, Australia, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Colombia, Romania, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia and Denmark. While most of the pieces are by an individual metalsmith, some are collaborations, one of three artists spanning 50 years.

In total 319 artists contributed 729 show pieces for the permanent online exhibition.

Objects in the exhibition include boxes, lockets, urns, ash containers, bowls, wine cups, reliquaries, match holders, vases, teapots, pitchers, sugar bowls, baskets, nests, pillboxes, clutches and a range of sculptural forms. A variety of techniques are showcased covering a wide range of metalsmithing techniques. Materials used include everything from gold and silver to less expensive metals. Ornamentation includes the addition of enamel, chasing and repousse’, gemstones and found objects.

The exhibition was curated by Beth Wicker, President of the North Carolina Society of Goldsmiths in the United States, and Adjunct Instructor at Northeastern Technical College in South Carolina. Director of the exhibition is Hanuman Aspler, founder of The Ganoksin Project, the world’s largest internet jewelry site.