Show all images on one page	#009437 Title: Tale of a Hump-backed Pony Artist: Trofimova Olga Size: 9x12x2.5 Size (inches): 3.5x4.75x1 Price : $365 SOLD!

This richly detailed with gold work was painted by a talented Palekh artist Trofimova Olga.
The box shows a moment from Pushkin's Tale of a Hump-backed Horse.
This tale tells about adventures of the stableman Ivan and his faithful friend the Humpbacked Little Pony who is a magical creature. In the beggining of the story, Ivan has catch the horse that trampled down the wheat field of his father. The horse asks Ivan to release him, and promises to give Ivan two golden-maned steeds of unheard-of beauty and a pony with two humps on its back and yard-long ears. This interesting moment we can see here on athe box! The golden-maned steeds help Ivan to become the tsar's stableman, while the Little Humpbacked Pony becomes his faithful friend. The capricious and self-willed tsar obliges Ivan to carry out very difficult tasks: to catch the firebird, to kidnap the beautiful Tsar Maiden, and to get the Tsar Maiden's ring lost somewhere on the bottom of the ocean. While fulfilling these errands Ivan travels to the Moon's crystal palace to find the reason of the Huge Whale's torture. His back is covered with forests, meadows and villages, and he can't get free. The Moon tells Ivan that the Whale is punished because he has swallowed three dozen ships. Afterwards the Whale lets the ships go, receiving his freedom, and helps Ivan to find the Tsar Maiden's ring.
The Tsar Maiden has ordered the old tsar to dip himself into three cauldrons of boiling water, boiling milk and ice cold water in order to regain his youth. But the coward tsar, in his turn, orders Ivan to be the first to jump into the boiling water. Having undergone this severe trial, Ivan emerges from the last cauldron as an extremely handsome young man, whereas the old tsar, who also decides to test the magic, is boiled alive. All people of the kingdom welcome Ivan, and ask him to become their tsar. In the end of the tale was a marriage of Ivan and the beautiful Tsar Maiden.
Here the artist has painted a moment when Ivan is kidnapping beautiful Tsar Maiden for a Tsar.
The composition is painted in a palette filled with soft red, green and yellow colors.
Intricate gold foliage ornamentation decorate the edges of the lid. Very complex and colorful flower ornament wraps around the box's sides.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the work while red lacquer completes the interior of the box. The lid is hinged to the left of the composition and the box rests flat. The work is signed with artist's name and Palekh.