Show all images on one page	#001182 Title: Tale of Golden fish Artist: Strunin Mikhail Size: 7x7x6 Price : $250 SOLD!

This round box was painted by Mstera artist Mikhail Ivanovich Strunin. The subject is based on the popular fairy-tale "The Fisherman and the Magic Fish", written in 1833 by A.S.Pushkin.
The painter could convey almost the whole content of this tale within the limited space of the box. For this purpose he depicted series of scenes that constitute a single decorative whole.
The scenes wrapping around the sides of the box show how the thrilling plot of the story develops. The first of them depicts the fisherman's wife sitting inside her hovel near a cracked washtub and spinning yarn. Her husband tells her that not long ago he has caught the magic goldfish that promised to fulfill any of his wishes. The greedy wife scolds the fisherman for refusing from this tempting offer and sends him back to the seashore to ask the gold fish to fulfill her first wish: to fetch her a new washtub. The following scene shows the fisherman asking the fish to fulfill the next wish of his grasping wife: to build her a new cottage. The next scene depicts the fisherman's wife sitting inside her new cottage and telling her husband her third wish to become a fine lady instead of being a peasant. Then we can see the realization of this wish. The fisherman's wife dressed in rich clothes sits inside the beautiful palace. She orders her husband to ask the magic fish to make her a Tsaritsa. Then follows the scene showing the fisherman's wife sitting inside the magnificent palace. Now she is the Tsaritsa, the golden crown is on her head, but she isn't satisfied again. She orders her husband to ask the magic fish to fulfill her following wish that is absolutely unrealizable: "I'm tired of being a Tsaritsa. I wish to be mistress of all the seas and oceans! I wish to have the goldfish for my servant to do for me everything that I command!". The guard kicks out the fisherman from the palace and the old man goes to the seashore again. The last scene (it also can be rendered as the first one) shows the fisherman's wife sitting again near the cracked washtub. Her last wish hasn't been realized, and she has been punished so by the wise fish.
The scene on the lid is from the middle of the tale when the greedy wife drives out her husband from her palace, wishing to be mistress of all the seas and oceans.
The box is painted in the traditional style of Mstera lacquered miniature. The palette ranges from blues to pinks and greens to reds. Gold paint is used in very limited amounts to add detail, while it also adds a definitive sparkle to the scenes. Each of the scenes are balanced and painted with an animated style. The paintings on this box can be clearly understood, even without knowing the tale that well.
The scene on the lid is framed with a thin line painted in red oils, whereas the edges of the lid are decorated with gold scroll designs. The intricate gold floral patterns painted against the blue background adorn the sides of the box. The prominent rim of the box's base is decorated with gold scroll designs.
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 box isn't hinged and rests on a small rim. It is signed with the artist's name, village and title.