Malchish-Kibalchish

This interesting box was painted by Nina Bogachyova from the village of Palekh. It depicts a scene from Arkady Gaidar's story of a Military Secret that was written in 1935. Arkady Golikov (1904 -1941), better known as Arkady Gaidar, was a Soviet writer, whose stories were very popular among Soviet children.
Military Secret, a book about friendship among freedom-loving nations, the lofty ideals of the revolution and the brutality of the enemy, includes a story, a kind of fairy-tale, about a boy who knew a military secret. It reflects a boy's perception of the new world that was being born and extols the valour of the pure juvenile heart which Gaidar understood so well. Before long, the tale acquired independent renown.When the Great Patriotic War broke out and the unprecedented heroism of the Soviet people, including children, astounded the world, people often recalled the grudging admission by the boy's main enemy in the tale in Gaidar's book: "What is that strange and incomprehensible country where even little children know the Military Secret and keep their word so well!
This "military secret" or "secret weapon", as Gaidar's tale explains, is that the Soviet people, young and old, are a closely-knit family united by the great ideals of fraternity, meaningful work and devotion to their free country. Arkady Gaidar always spoke to his young readers honestly, earnestly and respectfully. He was forthright in pointing out "the most important things in life". He did not hesitate to write about subjects and problems that books for children usually avoid.
For accentuating dynamism, rhythm and the perturbing atmosphere of the depicted scene, the artist paints red tongues of flame, puffs of smoke, clouds of dusts and cloaks of the guardsmen waving in the wind and the expressive posture of the reared horse. The main characters are painted in bright, mellow color palette dominated by reds and oranges. The painter has chosen to leave the background exposed to the black lacquer, which makes each of the colors she has used stand out even more brightly. The horse is painted in bright red colors with detailing on the bridles and saddles.Gold paint applied with a fine brush makes the image shine. The composition is notable for laconic and clear drawing, powerful image and precisely executed details.
The box is made out of paper-mache. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. The edges of the lid and the box's sides are decorated with nice gold patterns. The lid is hinged from the top of the scene, and the box rests on the four legs. The work is signed with the artist's name, Palekh, the title (Malchish Kibalchish) and the year of 2018.