Show all images on one page	#009099 Title: Tale of Pope and his worker Balda Artist: Maslov Alexander Size: 10.5x5.5x3.5 Size (inches): 4x2x1.25 Price: $950

Talented Fedoskino artist, Alexander Maslov, has painted this detailed scene.
It shows an episode from a well-known Russian poem written by famous Alexander Pushkin, "Tale of Pope and his worker Balda".
A greedy village priest searches the local market for cheap work and finds Balda, a laborer who does every chore around the house. For his services Balda demands nothing more than money for food and a stirke with three fingers to the priest's forehead.
The priest Pop is excited to hire Balda, so he does no have to pay as much for so much work. Balda starts working around the house, the stable and the kitchen, and does a great job. When it comes time to pay Balda his wages the priest comes up with a plan to trick Balda. He attempts to find a chore that Balda is unable to complete. If Balda fails the priest would be entitled to Balda's wages. The priest tells Balda of his secret pact with the Devil. The priest orders Balda to collect what the Devil owes the priest for the past three years of his services. Balda goes to the beach and starts irritating the Devil by swirling a rope on the surface of the water. The Devil appears from the abyss and listens to Balda's claims. The Devil summons up one his young demons to take care of this matter. The Devil is too busy himself to handle this claim and orders the smaller demon to trick Balda. The smart Balda seizes the opportunity and through a series of tricks beats the smaller demon and gets a pot of gold.
The priest now has to pay Balda his wages. He receives three hard strikes to his forehead and dies. The cunning Balda marries the priest's wife "Popadya." The story ends with a proverb, which is very popular in Russia: "Ne gonyalsya by ty Pop za desheviznoy..." which literally means "You, Pop, should not run after cheap things". The modern American equivalent is probably: "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is..."
A large piece of mother of-pearl is shines through the central part of the composition.
The sides of the box are decorated with two parralel gold lines . Creamy brown lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the box while red lacquer completes the interior of the work.
The box has a hinge from the top of the composition and rests on a flat bottom. The Fedoskino "troika" insignia can be found on the interior of the lid. The box is signed with the artist's name, village and year (2004).