Jewelry Coffin #2
Jewelry Coffin #2
While coffins have been associated with death and the afterlife since times as far back as 5,000 BC, this by no means precludes the possibility of them being in a way, beautiful. The role of art is to reimagine the familiar and blur the boundaries between ordinary and extraordinary.
The Jewelry Coffin series seeks to reimagine what a coffin can be; a form so familiar and so narrowly defined, yet reimagined here into an Heirloom Jewelry Box. The box itself is milled from a solid billet of the most highly figured Curly Maple, imparting the tiger-striping that is immediately obvious. The outside of the coffin is completely hand carved, wrapping classic imagery, flourishes, and pyrographic stippling around the entire form. The main compartment is intended to store larger jewelry like bracelets and necklaces. The lid, which is secured with rare earth magnets, features a secret “ribcage” compartment, which is also hand carved and perfect for earrings and rings. The uppermost lid is inlaid with a solid brass centerpiece (in this case the Death Head Hawkmoth), bright-cut and hand engraved. The inside of the lid is the perfect spot for a family dedication to the owner. All interior compartments are floored in black velvet for the safe storage of jewelry. Finished in the most classic platina shellac.