Lukomoriye

This attractive Palekh box is a creation of Nina Bogachyova . Nina Bogachyova was born in 1941 in the village of Ilinskaya in Ivanovo region, 300 kilometers northeast of Moscow. She currently resides in Palekh, as a well-established Palekh artist. The themes of her works are for the most part folklore and genre scenes.
The box shows a fragment from Pushkin's introduction to the popular poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” that begins with the following words:

An oak tree greening by the ocean; 
A golden chain about it wound: 
Whereon a learned cat, in motion
Both day and night, will walk around; 

The scene is painted in the icon painting style, which has been passed on from generation to the next and used in painting beautiful scenes like this. The detail is executed with precise brushwork, and with the aid of gold that also brings out the bold quality in the colors.
The box is constructed out of paper-mache. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. A line of gold beads makes its way around the lid and a highly intricate gold pattern wraps around the sides of the box. The box is hinged from the top of the scene, and rests on a flat bottom. The work is signed with the artist's name, Palekh and the title (“Lukomorye”).