Snowmaiden

This attractive Palekh box was painted by Kukharkina Ekaterina.
The artist has finished Palekh Art school in 1948.
Here the artist has depicted a scene from the popular Russian fairy-tale, "Snegurochka" or "Snowmaiden".The tale was also adapted into an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
In the middle of the composition we can see Lel and Snowmaiden. Lel is holding a flute in his hands. He is ready to play his sad song for Snowmaiden.
The palette is bright, and filled with a rich spectrum of tempera paints.
Gold and aluminum paint details a majority of the scene, which makes the details bring the scene to life.
The box is constructed out of paper-mache. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. Gold dot ornamentation frames the scene, and another expanded pattern, accented with aluminum, wraps around the sides of the box. The box is not hinged and rests on a flat bottom. The work is signed with the artist's name, 1992 and Palekh.
The box is used, has some small cracks on lacquer, but in a very good condition for its age. If you need more photos or you have questions regarding this box, please contact us!