Cameo #4
The Hunt
Original Work by Grzegorz Kiernicki
Original Hand-Carved Work by Grzegorz Kiernicki
Image Gallery
Subject
A mounted rider, a horse captured in motion and a running hound, carved together as a single continuous scene rather than as a portrait.
The raised figures emerge in pale ivory-white relief against the warmer cream and golden layers of the natural shell beneath them.
The Story
“The Hunt” is a large narrative cameo hand-carved by Grzegorz Kiernicki from natural sea shell and surrounded by an individually worked silver setting.
Unlike a traditional cameo centred around a single portrait, this work presents an entire scene.
Across the upper portion of the shell, a rider sits astride a horse captured in motion. Beneath them, a hound runs forward at full stride, its body stretched horizontally across the composition.
Together, the figures create a strong sense of movement.
Grzegorz used the contrasting natural layers of the shell to construct the scene. The raised figures emerge in pale ivory-white relief against the warmer cream and golden tones of the shell beneath them.
The horse’s head, mane, legs and tail are individually carved, while the rider’s body, limbs and clothing are modelled in relief.
Below, the hound has its own carefully defined anatomy, including its extended legs, body, head and ears.
Rather than treating the surrounding silver simply as a frame, Grzegorz continued the artistic treatment into the metal itself.
The broad handmade silver border has a heavily worked, sculptural surface incorporating irregular raised forms, lines, impressions and organic textures. This creates a deliberate contrast between the smooth natural shell and the rugged metalwork surrounding it.
The reverse reveals another side of the construction. The warm golden back of the natural shell remains visible within the handmade silver framework, preserving the identity of the original material from which the scene was carved.
At more than nine centimetres across and weighing 42.2 grams, “The Hunt” has a substantial physical presence.
It is best understood not simply as jewellery, but as a miniature narrative sculpture — an individual work combining carving, natural material and handmade metalwork.
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.
- —The cameo is unusually large in scale for a hand-carved shell work.
- —The composition is a multi-figure narrative rather than a single portrait.
- —The mounted rider is modelled in relief, with body, limbs and clothing individually carved.
- —The horse is captured in motion, its head, mane, legs and tail each worked separately.
- —The hound runs beneath the horse, stretched horizontally across the scene.
- —The raised white shell layers are set against the warmer natural background of the material.
- —Animal anatomy is modelled with care rather than simplified into outline.
- —The relief carries substantial depth, giving the scene genuine three-dimensional form.
- —A broad handmade silver surround encloses the entire shell.
- —The silver is given a sculptural, irregular surface treatment rather than a plain polished finish.
- —The natural golden shell remains visible on the reverse.
- —The work sits between jewellery, relief carving and miniature sculpture — carved and constructed individually by Grzegorz Kiernicki.
Specifications
- Catalogue Number
- Cameo #4
- Artist
- Grzegorz Kiernicki
- Title
- The Hunt
- Object Type
- Hand-Carved Narrative Cameo / Wearable Art / Miniature Sculpture
- Weight
- 42.2 g
- Height
- 3½ in / 8.89 cm
- Width
- 3¾ in / 9.53 cm
- Thickness
- ¾ in / 1.91 cm
- Primary Material
- Natural shell
- Setting
- Individually worked handmade silver setting
- Form
- Large irregular rounded cameo
- Availability
- Available
- Collection
- Grzegorz Collection
Natural sea shell and silver.
Material & Silverwork Details
- —Carving material: natural sea shell, retaining its pale ivory-white upper layer and warm cream and golden field.
- —Metal: silver, worked by hand into a broad border with irregular raised forms, lines, impressions and organic textures.
- —Construction: hand-carved shell held within an individually worked silver setting formed to the irregular outline of this single piece.
- —Reverse: the warm golden natural back of the shell remains visible within the handmade silver framework.
- —Finish: the handmade silver texture is left as worked, with no smoothing, repair or redesign of the carving.
Additional Detail Photographs
About Grzegorz Kiernicki
Grzegorz Kiernicki has spent a lifetime carving stone, shell, amber and antler by hand — first in Poland, later in Canada. He works without production moulds or repeated patterns, letting the grain, colour and flaws of each material decide the final form.
Every object in the Grzegorz Collection is a single, signed work made entirely by his own hands, and each one exists only once.