This box shows a sweet young woman wearing a warm furry winter hat. She is drawn in realistic fashion with very sweet and caring eyes. The silver glow of the moon shines behind her. The artist, T. Danchenko, titled this one "North Star" and thus this maiden seems to represent the goddess responsible for creating the heavens and stars. Here she is holding up a beautiful reddish gem-like object to her eyes. While one may be tempted to think that this is Polaris, the North Star, it may not be. Polaris is probably the one right below it, with the golden rays of light coming from in. The red one is probably Lamda Umi (a reddish star above Polaris in the horizon). In any case, this will be something for astronomers to decide and lovers of Russian lacquer miniatures can just enjoy the craftsmanship of this exquisite piece. The artist inserted small gemstones into the box to depict a number of stars on the lid and on the bottom. And the details are super throughout. The vibrant turquoise background on top is toned down a bit on the sides and the bottom, and looks quite lovely. The interior is red. The box is made out of high quality papier mache, has a hinge, and rests on four legs. Signed with the name of the artist, village and title.

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	9.5

(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.)