A lovely maiden, entangled in a web of tree limbs and surrounded by delicate butterflies looks at the viewer straight in the eye. The box is done by the Fedoskino artist Mochalova, whose work is featured in work is featured in "Russian Lacquer Miniatures". The maiden has both an elegance and vulnerablity to her character, the former accentuated by her gold earrings, the latter by the delicate nature of the butterflies. The artist also used radiant gold leaf to paint the thin branches, and toned-down gold in the background. The earthy pink colors of the butterflies, meanwhile, allows them to blend in to their surrounding very well and you don't really sense how many there are until you go out looking for them! The artist also painted a single butterfly (not shown) on the bottom of the box in one corner. The sides and bottom are black, the interior is red. The box is made out of high quality papier mache and has a hinge at the left. It is signed simply with the name of the artist at the bottom of the composition. A very stylish work!

Lacquerbox Condition Ratings

Surface Condition (exterior)	Surface Condition (interior/bottom)	Box Materials and Soundness	Hinge and Lid Placement	Signature	Total Rating	Mother-of-pearl Condition
9.5	9.5	10.0	10.0	10.0	49	N/A

(Each category rated 1-10. For low scores, look for explanation in the description of box. In general, any total rating over 40 is excellent. For more information on rating system, click here.)