This steel-plate and silver bowl is a fine example of Barbara’s work in etching and silversmithing. She relies heavily on her auditory sense when shaping metal; this led her to research the effect of sound waves on rigid materials, and notably to study the techniques of German physicist Ernst Chladni (1756–1827), who invented a technique to show how resonance and vibrations create patterns on various surfaces.

Height 210 mm
Length 400 mm
Width 300 mm

The inspiration for this hand-crafted bowl came from the vaulted ceilings of the Benedictine Convent of St John in Müstair, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The designs of these fascinating painted ceilings are interpreted as bowls or religious vessels.

Height 152 mm
Length 185 mm
Width 140 mm

The resilient human body was at the centre of Barbara’s inspiration for this piece, especially the duality of many of our organs: the two ventricles of the heart, two lungs, the two hemispheres of the brain.

Height 135 mm
Length 275 mm
Width 155 mm

The geometrical properties of a regular pentagon are demonstrated by this design. If lines are traced between alternate angles of the figure, a smaller pentagon will be formed in the centre, rotated by 180°. Looking into the vase from above, you will observe a seemingly infinite rotation of pentagons.

Height 207 mm
Diameter 77 mm

In the 1990s Barbara stumbled across an old 500 Swiss franc banknote depicting a purple orchid, a muscular human torso and two lungs. She made a sketch of it then forgot about it for many years until she finished the piece entitled Two Chambers. Wondered how to extend it upwards, she chanced upon the sketch of the lungs that became her inspiration.

Height 240 mm
Length 90 mm
Width 80 mm
Height 252 mm
Length 85 mm
Width 95 mm