Show all images on one page	#008989 Sale! Title: Fire-Bird Artist: Kuzmenko Galina Size: 9x12x3 Size (inches): 3.5x4.75x1.25 Price: $175 $160

This box has been painted by a talented Palekh artist,Kuzmenko Galina.
The subject of this box is the popular fairy-tale "The Humpbacked Little Pony". This tale tells about adventures of the stableman Ivan and his faithful friend the Humpbacked Little Pony who is a magical creature.
Here is the synopsis of the story.
Ivan has catch the horse that trampled down the wheat field of his father. The horse asks Ivan to release him, and promises to give Ivan two golden-maned steeds of unheard-of beauty and a pony with two humps on its back and yard-long ears. The golden-maned steeds help Ivan to become the tsar's stableman, while the Little Humpbacked Pony becomes his faithful friend. The capricious and self-willed tsar obliges Ivan to carry out very difficult tasks: to catch the firebird, to kidnap the beautiful Tsar Maiden, and to get the Tsar Maiden's ring lost somewhere on the bottom of the ocean. While fulfilling these errands Ivan travels to the Moon's crystal palace to find the reason of the Huge Whale's torture. His back is covered with forests, meadows and villages, and he can't get free. The Moon tells Ivan that the Whale is punished because he has swallowed three dozen ships. Afterwards the Whale lets the ships go, receiving his freedom, and helps Ivan to find the Tsar Maiden's ring. The box's central part shows Ivan's transformation into a handsome man. The Tsar-Maiden has ordered the old tsar to dip himself into three cauldrons of boiling water, boiling milk and ice cold water in order to regain his youth. But the coward tsar, in his turn, orders Ivan to be the first to jump into the boiling water. Having undergone this severe trial, Ivan emerges from the last cauldron as an extremely handsome young man, whereas the old tsar, who also decides to test the magic, is boiled alive. All people of the kingdom welcome Ivan, and ask him to become their tsar. The final episode of the tale is the marriage of Ivan and the beautiful Tsar Maiden.
The palette includes various shades of red and green. Gold paint is used to add detail, while it also adds a definitive sparkle to the scenes.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the piece while red lacquer completes the interior of the box. The box's sides decorated with intricate gold and aluminum ornamentation. A hinge has been fastened from the left of the composition and the box rests flat. The work is signed by the artist with her name and village of Palekh.