10 masterpieces of contemporary gemstone carving (PHOTOS)
Russia has a centuries-old history and tradition of the art of stone carving and Russian craftsmen and jewelers have been famous throughout the world since tsarist times. Below, we present a selection of unique items by our contemporaries from the collection of the State Hermitage.
Vladimir Ilyukhin. Portrait of a cat, 1995
Jasper, carnelian, obsidian, labradorite, silver
Gennady Pylin. Behemoth Cat [a character in Mikhail Bulgakov’s ‘The Master and Margarita’ novel], 2000
Obsidian, jasper, cacholong, chrysolite, gold, silver
Vladimir Ilyukhin. Little Mouse, 2002
Agate, morion, silver
Sergey Shimansky. ‘Time’ composition, 2007
Smoky quartz, jasper
ANNA NOVA. ‘Field Bouquet’ composition, 2009
Gold, silver, precious stones, cacholong, jade, amethyst, quartz
Sergey Falkin. ‘Wave’ snail, 2009
Jade, faceted black stones
Anton Ananiev. Babylon Snail, 2010
Brazilian agate
Alexander Leventhal. Yeshua. 2011
Ural Jasper
Anton Ananiev. ‘La Fleur du Mal’ (The Flower of Evil) composition, 2012
Jade, obsidian, rock crystal, gold, silver
Yaroslav Ksenofontov; Mikhail Komarov. ‘Bird’ composition, 2013
Jade, carnelian, lapis lazuli, cacholong, jambul chalcedony, silver, citrine, cubic zirconia
The ‘Contemporary Gemstone Carving’ exhibition will be held in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg from July 9 to December 31, 2022.