Show all images on one page	#002568 Title: Amusement Artist: Wagner Marie Size: 19x13.5x4.5 Size (inches): 7.5x5.25x1.75 Price : $950 SOLD!

This box is a creation of the prominent Fedoskino painter Marya Wagner. It is called "Amusement", and features the artists of the small court circus giving a performance to the young tsaritsa. The fox plays the gusli (an ancient Slavic musical instrument, most common in Russia; it is a kind of a harp), the rabbit beats the drum, while the goose sings the songs. This funny performance is carried out under the strict control of the animal trainer. The tsaritsa surrounded with her maids is charmed by so talented and clever artists.
In this work Wagner managed to reproduce realistically the interior of the tsaritsa's chamber. She depicted such characteristic features of the Old Russian royal chamber as the low vaulted ceiling, the candles that replaced electricity, the walls covered with colorful paintings depicting birds, beasts and flowers, the oak floor covered the rich Persian carpet, the windows decorated with stone carving and a wonderful view of the Moscow Kremlin's cathedral that can be seen through these windows. The costumes of all characters are also brilliantly painted with a lot of details in accordance with the fashion of the 15th and 16th centuries.
For this scene the artist chose the rich, bright palette. Gold and aluminum paints were used as an underlayer for the oils to make the colors brighter and to fill the scene with a magic sparkle.
The box's sides are covered with copper, gold, silver and white blurry spots that form together a single, original pattern. Each of the box's sides features an additional miniature of animal painted in oils; the front side depicts a squirrel, the right side shows a hare, the rear side displays a goose, and the left side features a fox.
The box is constructed out of paper-mache. Black lacquer covers the box's bottom and red lacquer covers its interior. The box has a hinge above the composition, and rests on a flat bottom. The artist wrote Fedoskino, the title, and her name at the bottom of the scene.