Out for the berries

Well-known Palekh artist Smirnova Nina is the author of this colorful box.
Using bright red, orange, and green tones of tempera paints the artist has managed to express a beauty of summer season. It is a berry time and peasant girl and a young guy have left their household chores to pick ripe berries in the forest. An innumerable number of brush strokes have been made to depict a rich plant life including various trees, bushes, flowers and grass. Hair thin gold and silver accents have been used extensively throughout the composition adding rich luminescence and delicacy to the piece! 
The box is constructed from paper-mache. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the box while red lacquer completes the interior of the work. Gold paint is used to decorate the box's exterior with intricate patterns. The lid is hinged from the left of the scene, and the box rests on a flat bottom. The box is signed with the artist's name, Palekh and the year of 2011.