Show all images on one page	#001745 Title: Ilya Muromets Artist: Kaleonov Maxim Size: 14x12.5x4 Size (inches): 5.5x5x1.5 Price : $895 SOLD!

This box is the original work of the talented Kholui artist Maxim Kalyonov. The artist has chosen to depict an episode from the well-known Russian ancient bylina "Ilya Muromets and Solovey Razboyinik" (also known as "The Evil Bandit the Nightingale Whistler"). This bylina tells how Ilya Muromets managed to kill the bandit Solovey Razboinik who killed and robbed people on their way to Kiev. Here we can see the hero riding the mighty steed, and carrying the head of Solovey Razboynik to show it to Prince Vladimir as the proof that the road to Kiev is safe now.
The composition is painted in subdued tempera paints, and skillfully detailed with gold paints. Blue-greenish and yellow-brownish tones dominate here.
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 edges of the lid and the box's sides are decorated with rich patterns painted in gold and aluminum. The box is hinged from the top of the composition, and rests on a flat bottom. It is signed with the artist's name, the title, the year of 2004 and the village of Kholui at the bottom of the composition, and also on the lid's interior.