Warrior at the Crossroad

This subject (originally painted by Victor Vasnetsov in 1882) can be found in Russian State Museum of St.Petersburg. Usually only Fedoskino artists who are working with oil paints were making variations of realistic paintings.
The subject is based on the Russian bylina "Three Trips of Ilya Muromets". Ancien Russian warrior Ilya Muromets reaches the crossroad and thinks what direction it is necessary to choose. If he chooses the road leading to the left he will be killed. If he chooses the road leading to the right he will be married. If he chooses the forward direction he will be rich. 
The scene is painted in various shades of green and red tempera paints against the black background. Bogachova enhances details with brilliant gold paint that makes the composition radiate with a tremendous glow.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. The exterior of the box is painted with black lacquer while the interior is completed with dark red lacquer. The edges of the lid are adorned with a simple pattern composed of gold beads whereas the box's sides are decorated with more complex gold ornament.
A hinge is fastened to the top of the composition and the box rests on a flat bottom. The work is signed with the artist's name, Palekh, the title, and the year of 2019.