The Nutcracker (dual-sided painted box)

This elegantly shaped dual-sided box is a creation of the talented Fedoskino painter, Irina Turbenyova. The box displays a scene from "The Nutcracker", a Christmas fairy-tale written by E.T.A Hoffman. The story tells about adventures of a little girl during the Christmas night. All her toys became alive and started speak like people. Her favorite toy, the Nutcracker, became her suitor and defender from the Mouse King. Here we can see the Nutcracker making a declaration of love to the girl.
The scene is painted in various tones of oil paints against the cream background, but the predominance is given to whites and blues. The box's interior is covered with red lacquer.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. The hinge is situated at the bottom of the scene, and the box flat. The work is signed with the artist's name and the village of Fedoskino.