Description:
This traditional Palekh miniature was painted by A. Lopatin. Its theme is based on the Pushkin's "Tale of Tsar Saltan". Here the artist depicted three wonder of Gvidon's island: the magic squirrel that all day long cracks golden nuts with emeralds inside and sings songs, the Princess Swan, and the thirty-three knights with their uncle old Chernomor.
The composition is painted in pink, orange and green tempera paints against the black background. The details are enhanced with gold and aluminum paints. When this piece is turned in the palm of the hand, the gold and aluminum shines like a handful of precious stones.
The nice gold leafy pattern decorates the edges of the lid; and the same gold leafy pattern but of a bigger size can be found wrapping around the box's sides.
The box is made out of paper-mache. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. The lid is hinged from the top of the composition and the box rests on four rounded feet. Signed with the name of the artist, and the village of Palekh.
The same box painted by A. Lopatin is exhibited in the book "Russian Lacquer Miniature. Origin and Contemporary" that we have on our website.
