Show all images on one page	#001773 Title: Fortune Telling on Christmas Eve Artist: Strunina T. P. Size: 13x9.5x4.5 Size (inches): 5.25x3.75x1.75 Price : $145 SOLD!

Tatyana Strunina, a daughter of the outstanding Mstera master Piotr Sosin, is the artist who painted this box. The work is called "Christmas Fortune Telling", and shows one of the ways of fortune telling. It's the evening on the eve of Epiphany. Twelve days on the eve of Epiphany in Russia are called "svyatki"; it's the time when fortune-telling and different games take place. In this period girls and lads gather the big village house to make merry, sing songs, play games, dance and talk. In Russian such gatherings sound like "posidelki".
Here we can see the way of old Russian fortune-telling. A cock and a sieve are the main elements of it. Sharp at twelve o'clock girls sift seeds through a sieve and scatter them on the floor. Then they let a cock out. According to the cock's behavior it's possible to think over the future. If all the seeds have been pecked, the girl who has fed the cock will marry somebody and the next year will be very successful for her. If the cock has pecked few seeds, it's possible to determine when the long-expected event will happen or which of the girls will marry. For example, if the cock pecks three seeds; it means that the third girl will marry; or if the cock pecks two seeds it may be interpreted that the long-expected event will happen only in two years. In case the cock hasn't pecked any seeds, the next year will be unsuccessful.
The composition is painted in bright colors. Gold paint is used to detail almost every element of the composition. The edges of the lid and the box's sides are decorated with beautiful floral patterns painted in gold paints, and accented with red and blue tempera paints.
The box is made out of paper-mache made. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. The box isn't hinged and rests on a small platform. The is signed with the artist's name, the village, and the title.