Show all images on one page	#003636 Title: The Sleeping Princess Artist: Smirnova Vera Size: 16x13x4 Size (inches): 6.25x5x1.5 Price : $950 SOLD!

Vera Smirnova from the village of Palekh is a well-known Master that handcrafted this stunning piece of artistic expression. Lavish decoration and gorgeous color combinations make this a very entrancing scene. The depicted scene is from the popular fairy-tale of, "The Sleeping Princess." This story was originally put to pen by French writer Charles Perrault when he published his collection of fairy tales "Stories of Olden Times" in 1697. The French title of the tale was "La belle au bois dormant," which means "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood." The story has since been adopted into various versions in the many countries of the world; in Russia it is known as Sleeping Princess written by A.S. Pushkin. Here we can see the main characters of this fairy-tale: the Sleeping Princess, the Prince who hastens to wake her up, the witch who has enchanted the princess and the fairy who helped to remove evil spell.
The artist's palette is diverse and holds a wide range of colors that she uses within this composition. She works in details with gold and aluminum paint that are fine and make the scene radiate with a tremendous glow. But, it is the use of gold leaf that is truly awe inspirational wonder. Multiple sheets of gold leaf are placed as a strategic background and then the artist is free to work their magic in, around and on top of it.
The box is made out of paper-mache. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. The artist has framed the lid's artistry with a tightly wound pattern of golden filigree vines. Gold ornamentation in the form of leaves wraps around the sides of the box. The box has a hinge above the composition and rests on a small platform the sides of which form four legs. The artist has written the name of the village Palekh, the year of 2007 and her name at the bottom of the composition.