Choosing the Bride

The work is called "Choosing a Bride", and features the ritual of choosing a bride for a tsar in medieval Russia. To arrange this important procedure, the most beautiful girls of the country, both noble and plain, were asked to appear before the tsar. The number of arrived candidates may achieve up to 1500 persons. To gather such a considerable number, elections were held not only in the districts neighboring Moscow, but also in remote districts of the country. In this case "the accordance instructions" had been sent: the girls must be definite centimeters in height and have definite features. Then, the candidates came to the tsar for review, and he chose only one of the girls, the others were let off with peace and presents. Very often the Russian tsars chose brides from plain families, considering feminine beauty as the most important criterion of their choice.
Brown, red and green oils dominate here. Gold metal leaf helps to accentuate richness of the characters' costumes.
The box's exterior is decorated with elegant gold floral ornaments.
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. The lid is hinged from the top of the composition, and the box rests on four legs. Signed with the artist's name and the village of Fedoskino.