The Daughter of the Earth

Subject

The central figure is carved from deep black jet and depicts the face of a woman in pronounced relief.

Rather than the pale layered shell associated with classical cameo carving, Grzegorz worked with an intensely dark material, allowing light and shadow alone to reveal the facial features.

The face projects prominently from the surrounding material, with carefully formed eyes, nose, lips, cheeks and chin. The hair or headdress is carved around the face with additional linear and ornamental detailing.

A handmade silver setting surrounds the carving and follows the irregular shape of the stone rather than forcing it into a conventional symmetrical jewellery form. Along one side and across the lower portion, the silver develops into an organic sculptural texture.

Handcrafted by the Artist

This cameo was carved individually by Grzegorz Kiernicki and mounted by hand in his own workshop. Nothing about it is repeated: the material dictated the composition, and the setting was formed around the finished carving.

• —Deep three-dimensional facial relief, with substantial projection of the face from the background.
• —Carefully modelled nose and lips; defined eyelids and brows.
• —Sculpted cheeks and chin with detailed surrounding hair or headdress.
• —Strong use of shadow created by the black jet rather than layered material contrast.
• —Hand-carved surface characteristics retained throughout, as the low-angle photograph shows.
• —Handmade silver setting formed around the organic perimeter of the carving, with irregular sculptural formations along one side and the lower portion.
• —Large handmade bail continuing the substantial sculptural appearance of the piece.
• —Carving and setting conceived as a single original artwork — hand-carved, hand-mounted, artist-made, one of one.

Material & Silverwork Details

• —Carving material: jet — a deep black natural material selected for the way it holds light and shadow.
• —Metal: silver — a setting fabricated by hand to follow the irregular outline of the stone, with organic sculptural texture rather than a uniform commercial bezel.
• —Bail: large handmade silver bail formed as part of the same fabrication, allowing the work to be worn as a pendant.
• —Reverse: the dark natural material and the handmade construction of the surrounding silver frame remain visible, including working marks and variations that have deliberately not been smoothed away.
• —Disciplines represented: figurative carving, portrait sculpture, deep-relief carving, jewellery design, hand fabrication, sculptural silverwork, natural-material selection and the integration of carving with metalwork.
• —Provenance: from the lifetime collection of Grzegorz Kiernicki — jeweller, painter, sculptor and artist. He personally carved the central figure and created the surrounding silver mounting. This is not a commercially manufactured cameo inserted into a generic jewellery mount.
• —No creation date, geographic origin, historical or cultural attribution, identity of the sitter, silver purity, appraisal history or monetary value is claimed pending confirmation by the artist.