Show all images on one page	#001033 Title: Sadko Artist: Kopienko Alexander Size: 5x4x2 Size (inches): 1 Price : $650 SOLD!

This fascinating box has been painted by the outstanding Kholui artist Alexander Kopienko. It depicts a scene from the Russian folk fairy-tale "Sadko". The tale tells about the exciting adventures of a musician Sadko. Once he was playing his gusli and singing a beautiful song on the riverbank. Suddenly, the Water Elf, enchanted with the wonderful tune, rose out of the lake and rewarded Sadko by telling him a secret. The next day there was a big feast at a merchant's house. The guests started to boast about their wealth. They asked Sadko to join them. He replied modestly that he was not a wealthy man, but he knew one secret - there was a magic golden fish in the Lake Ilmen, which would restore youth to anyone who ate it. The merchants swore that if Sadko could catch that fish they would give him all their goods. Surprising everyone, he caught the golden fish and became one of the richest men in Novgorod. He built a big palace, married a lovely girl named Lubava, and became a prosperous merchant. Once during one of his voyages, he had to throw himself into the sea to appease the Sea Tsar. He came to the Sea Tsar's court, and played his gusli (a musical instrument), while the Sea Tsar danced, causing a great disturbance in the sea. As a result of it, ships were sinking, people were dying. Having realized it, Sadko stopped playing. The tale ends happily: Sadko managed to escape from the underwater kingdom of the Sea Tsar and return to his beloved wife Lubava.
The box is very small in size, and it can be easily placed on your palm. It's really amazing how the artist could find room for so many objects and figures within the surface of such a small box. The composition includes three scenes in total. The central scene depicts Sadko playing his gusli and the Sea Tsar dancing to his content; to the left of the central scene the artist paints Lubava looking at the sea in the hope of noticing Sadko's merchant ships, returning home from other countries; and, at last, in the background we can see the big feast at the merchant's house, where Sadko confessed that he knows the secret of a magic golden fish.
The palette is quite diverse for having been painted on such a small scale. The composition is filled with diminutive details. Some of them are not discernible without the help of a magnifying glass. The expressive detail within the characters and the elaborate nature of the architecture are the two most impressive facets of this composition. The artist has also used lustrous gold paint in order to accentuate the clothing, armor, domes and headpieces noticed throughout. Creativity and tradition are abundant.
The box is made out of paper-mache from Palekh. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. The sides of the box are decorated with intricate, elegant designs painted in gold and aluminum. The design is very intricate in nature and well done. The box stands on a small platform, the sides of which are decorated with gold beads, and has a hinge above the composition. It is signed with the name of the artist, title, village and year. In the interior of the lid the artist also writes the title, "Kholui", the year of 2003. If you have been looking for a handsome work by a famous artist, this would be an excellent addition to any collection.