Shinji Nakaba (born 1950) is a contemporary Japanese jeweler who renders naturalistic, albeit ambiguous, images in minerals, shell, pearls, and steel, as well as upcycled aluminum cans and plastic bottles. He came to jewelry through his love for historical styles—ancient Greek, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Art Nouveau—studying them voraciously in museums around the world, at antique shops, and in books. Despite his reverence for the past Nakaba is not a traditionalist. His aim is the modernization of historical traditions in order to interface with the present, along with the future.

The brooch “My Left Foot” is now part of the permanent collection at the RISD Museum.

My Left Foot, brooch, carved helmet shell, silver, 2015