Yevgeny Morozov spotted the cap of a mushroom in a piece of moss agate and managed to make great play of that material in his legendary creation Mushroom (walking stick handle). By working with a translucent mineral such as quartz, employing the contrast between matte and polished surfaces, achieving the most effective refraction of light or giving the surface expressive facets, an artist can produce striking pieces such as Sergei Vtorygin’s Nandi Bull. Virtuoso treatment of the surface and an interesting compositional approach mark the walking stick handle in the form of the figure of a jester (Jester on a Dandelion walking stick) made by Sergei Shimansky that reflects the artist’s fascination with the Art Nouveau, The geometrical sculptural composition Natural Movement, in which light becomes a co-creator with the artist, is by Bernd Munsteiner, a German known for his innovative approach to the faceting of minerals.

Powerful emotional images are produced by Alexander Levental, one of the leaders of the Petersburg gemstone-carving school. The exhibition includes his work entitled Yeshua, which stands out for its expressive form and deep psychological aspect. The decorativeness of the material – a sapphirine containing a geode –underlines the character of Sergei Falkin’s composition Cain and Abel. Yulia Gogol produced a charming little figure of a child sitting on an ice floe (Northern Lights), drawing inspiration from the bone- and ivory-carving art of the peoples of the North.

The exhibition has been prepared by the State Hermitage’s Department of Western European Applied Art, headed by Olga Grigoryevna Kostiuk.

The curator of the exhibition is Tatyana Valeryevna Boboshina, a researcher in the Department of Western European Applied Art.

The exhibition is accompanied by a scholarly publication in Russian – Sovremennoe kamnereznoe iskusstvo (State Hermitage publishing house, 2022). The text is by Tatyana Baboshina.

The exhibition can be visited by all holders of tickets to the General Staff building.