Show all images on one page	#002578 Title: tale of prince Ivan and the Grey Wolf Artist: Strunin Konstantine Size: 30x9.5x6 Size (inches): 12x3.75x2.25 Price : $950 SOLD!

This piece was painted by the well-known Mstera artist Konstantin Strunin. Konstantin is married to Olga Strunina. They live with Olga's father, Lev Fomichev, and have an ideal family of their own. The family lives on the banks of the Klyazma River in a large wooden house. Lev is one of the founders of Mstera art and makes his own tempera paints. Konstantin uses his father-in-law's paints for his own work.
The box shows several scenes from the popular Russian folk tale "Ivan Tsarevich and the Grey Wolf". The tale tells about the adventures of the Prince Ivan Tsarevich and his friend, the Grey Wolf, a magician. The Wolf ate the horse of Ivan Tsarevich and to redress a wrong, he helped Ivan in several quests: to get the firebird, to get the horse with the golden mane, and to get the beautiful princess.
The left part of the box shows the old tsar who sends his three sons to fetch the Fire Bird that stole golden apples from the tsar's orchard. In the center of the box we can see the Grey Wolf sleeping under the magic tree covered with golden apples; next to him there is a stone with the following recommendations written on it: "If you go on the right, you will lose your steed! If you go straight, you and your steed will die! If you go on the left, you will die, but save your steed!" This stone is mentioned in many Russian fairy-tales; with its help bogatyrs may choose the direction to follow, and only the bravest of them choose the direction where they are destined to die but save someone. The right part of the box features Ivan Tsarevich riding the Grey Wolf; at this moment the friends are going to steal Elena the Beautiful from Tsar Dalmat's palace.
The edges of the lid are decorated with intricate floral and leafy pattern painted in olive, red and blue tempera paints and detailed with gold paints. Luxurious gold ornamentation detailed with black tempera paints can be found wrapping around the box's sides; it consists of various flowers, leaves, apples, and even features the wolf's muzzle. The similar gold ornamentation adorns each of the box's four legs.
The box is constructed out of paper-mache. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior and red lacquer is used to paint the interior of the box. The box has a hinge located above the composition. The artist wrote in gold paints the title, Mstera, 2006, and his personal signature on the exterior bottom of the box. The work is also titled in red tempera paints above the composition.