page_title: Vasily Konovalenko
section_title: The Denver Museum of Nature and Science Collection
hierarchical_section_title: Vasily Konovalenko / The Denver Museum of Nature and Science Collection
caption_attribution_description: English: The gem sculpture "Bosom Pals" by Vasily Konovalenko. This image is from the image archives of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, Colorado USA. Archive file name IV.DMF.1-15.c.jpg. Catalog number DMF.1-15.c. The sculpture, along with about 20 others, is on display at the Museum. Used in the Wikipedia page Vasily_Konovalenko.
context_page_description: Vasily Vasilivich Konovalenko was a Soviet artist, known for creating unique miniature gemstone carvings.
context_section_description: The Denver Museum of Nature and Science has far and away the largest public display of Konovalenko's sculptures in the world — 20 pieces. They include:
  • Barrel Bath: An elderly man is enjoying a hot bath in a barrel, enveloped in a large towel or rug. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, agate, cacholong, red jasper, petrified wood, gold-plated silver, silver, sapphire and cloisonné. Height 22 cm.
  • Bosom Pals: Three revelers singing boisterously. Two of the men hold instruments-a horn and a balalaika-and the third a punchbowl. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, jasper, green jasper, diamond, ruby, tiger eye, nephrite, rose agate, cacholong, gold, silver, gold-plated silver and cloisonné. Height 28 cm.
  • Bread and Salt: An elderly man receiving guests with the traditional offering of bread and rock salt. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, white quartz, gray quartz, jasper, banded jasper, jade, banded onyx, calcite nodule, gold-plated silver, sapphire, opal and cloisonné. Height 27 cm.
  • Gold Prospectors: Two prospectors and a burro, the only sculpture Konovalenko ever made with an American theme. The original clay model for this piece is in the DMNS collections. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, agate, Indian agate, jade, tourmaline, gold-plated silver, silver, sapphire, zebra jasper, jasper conglomerate, horn, dinosaur bone (fossil), sodalite, septarian calcite, cacholong, ruby and petrified wood. Height 34 cm.
  • Grandmother: An elderly woman, seated outside, spinning wool. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, white quartz, rutilated quartz, amethyst, snowflake obsidian, jasper, aragonite, malachite, gold and petrified wood. Height 34 cm.
  • Ice Fishing: A middle-aged man enjoying a winter day on a frozen lake. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, rutilated quartz, obsidian, tiger eye, agate, lapis lazuli, ruby, petrified wood, jasper, gold, silver, labradorite, serdolic agate and nundoorite. Height 24 cm.
  • In the Sultry Afternoon I: An obese man gorges on watermelon while enjoying a cool soak on a hot afternoon. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, jasper, ruby, sapphire, agate, petrified wood, gold-plated silver and silver. Height 18 cm.
  • In the Sultry Afternoon II: A buxom woman enjoys a cup of tea while soaking in a pool. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, rutilated quartz, sapphire, agate, cacholong, turquoise, lapis lazuli, gold-plated silver and cloisonné. Height 23 cm.
  • Laundress: A woman is engaged in the mundane task of washing clothes. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, sapphire, agate, variscite, white jasper, pearl, malachite, pyrite, petrified wood, amethyst, aventurine and (goldstone). Height 12 cm.
  • Mower: A man working a scythe in a rye field. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, rutilated quartz, black jasper, sapphire, agate, ruby, obsidian, snowflake obsidian, beryl, gold, silver, gold-plated silver and gold plate. Height 23 cm.
  • On the Stroll: A couple strolling together, the young woman playing a balalaika and singing. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, chalcopyrite, sapphire, red jasper, white jasper, varicite, nundoorite, opal, lapis lazuli, onyx, goldstone, sapphire, gold and agate. Height 30 cm.
  • Painter: A forlorn, yet proud drunk house painter. Materials: Jasper, black jasper, white jasper, sapphire, amethyst, quartz, snowflake obsidian, lapis lazuli, petrified wood and cacholong. Height 25 cm.
  • Prisoners: Two prisoners building their shelter in a Siberian labor camp. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, ice quartz, jasper, zebra jasper, petrified wood, ruby, silver, sapphire and obsidian. Height 32 cm.
  • Sauna I: The Thin and the Fat": A thin masseuse struggling with the literal and metaphorical weight of his overstuffed client. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, rose quartz, agate, obsidian, tiger eye, calcite, mahogany obsidian, petrified wood and cacholong. Height 24 cm.
  • Sauna II: Woman: A woman of some leisure being pummeled with birch switches by a working class attendant. Materials: Beloretsk quartz, rose quartz, rutilated quartz, sapphire, agate, obsidian, jasper, aventurine, silver, gold-plated silver and petrified wood. Height 34 cm.
  • Spring: A dapper young ma
caption: Bosom Pals
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "3744", "Image ImageLength": "2789", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image ImageDescription": "Konovalenko Bosom Pals, born digital", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D300", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image PlanarConfiguration": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2017:03:13 14:25:30", "Image Artist": "Richard M. Wicker", "Image Copyright": "Denver Museum of Nature & Science", "Image ExifOffset": "432", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1022", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5388", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "18", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:03:17 11:15:15", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:03:17 12:24:41", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "995723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "166797/20000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Flash", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "70", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "500", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "373", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "105", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}