Show all images on one page	#005414 Title: Tale of the Sleeping Princess and Seven Bogatyrs Artist: Dogadin Alexander Size: 12x20x4.5 Size (inches): 4.75x8x1.75 Price : $850 SOLD!

Alexander Dogadin of Mstera is the author of this complex composition. It depicts some events from Alexander Pushkin's "Tale of the Sleeping Princess and Seven Bogatyrs". This tale tells about the beautiful girl who suffered from her beauty. Her wicked and envious stepmother tried to kill her several times intending to surpass her in beauty. The end of this story is happy. The girl's suitor, Prince Yelisey, saved the girl. His kiss awakened the girl from the eternal sleep.
In the center of the composition we can see the Sleeping Princess and all seven bogatyrs. In the beginning of the tale seven bogatyrs sheltered the girl and became her sworn brothers. The next scene depicts the servant of the wicked stepmother who tries to kill the Sleeping Princess with the help of a poisoned apple. The scene depicted in the upper level of the composition shows Prince Yelisey who has found the Sleeping Princess lying lifeless in the crystal coffin. From the left of this scene we can see the stepmother of the Sleeping Princess asking her magic mirror who is the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.
The artist fills the palette with bright colors; the oranges and the blues are the first to come into full view in this scene. There is a great amount of movement in the clouds, the landscape, and in each of the characters. Gold paint is used to highlight the composition and add flair for the eye to grasp.
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 exterior is decorated richly with intricate gold ornaments. On the box's sides these ornaments are accented with red and green tempera paints and also with silver paint. The lid is hinged from the top of the composition and rests on four rounded legs. The work is signed with the artist's name and village of Mstera.