Show all images on one page	#001161 Title: Tula craftsmen Artist: Strahova Olga Nickolaevna Size: 5x5x3 Size (inches): 2x2x1.25 Price : $140 SOLD!

This charming small box has been painted by Olga Strakhova from Fedoskino. The composition shows three men playing accordions. Accordion was the most popular musical instrument in the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century in Russia. One can met accordion players in big towns and small villages; during the World War II this musical instrument helped Russian solders to pluck up their spirits. Even now accordion is one of the most popular musical instruments in Russia.
This box is included in the series of works, which is called "Tula craftsmen". The original of the boxes included in this series was painted by A. Grachov in 1965, and you can find them in the book by N. Malakhov, Fedoskino (Moscow, Fine arts), image 163. The ancient Russian town of Tula has been always famous for its craftsmen. Since old times, Tula craftsmen have produced weapon, samovars, accordions (the example of it you can see in this composition), confectionery and many other goods. Now in this town there are munitions factories that produce guns, rifles, cartridges, submachine guns, including the famous submachine gun of Kalashnikov; confectioneries, producing the world-famous Tula-cakes, factories, producing samovars and a lot of others.
The composition is painted in bright colors against the black background. The black background furthers the radiance of the presentation. To paint the craftsmen the artist uses three distinct green, red and yellow tones, to create a contrast on each of them. Gold paint is used to highlight the accordions and some elements of the characters' costumes. The scene is very well drawn, especially the faces of the craftsmen. Delightful little treasure!
The box is constructed from paper-mache. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the box while red lacquer completes the interior of the work. The sides of the box are decorated with intricate gold patterns. 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 (2001).