The Mad Tea Party of Alice in Wonderland is drawn here by Palekh artist Vera Smirnova. The table, and the characters around it, are comfortably ensconced within the beautiful foliage of nature, each leaf lit up with fine touches of gold leaf. Especially comfy around the table is the dormouse who falls asleep on the pillow, as he frequently does in the story. The Mad Hatter might not be quite as you pictured him, but he is certainly a dashing figure with his handsome features and confident manner. Alice, meanwhile, who is sipping tea and reading, brings a child-like innocence to the scene and may be very close to the way you imagine her. The dress she is wearing is lovely, as is her face, both exquisitely drawn in ultra-fine detail by Smirnova. Much of the fine touches throughout are accomplished by Smirnova's skilled use of gold leaf paint, and the whole drawing has a radiant glow as a result. The sun at the top left corner is gold, as well, but it is small and is barely noticed at first as it peeks over the clouds. This subtlety, compared to the vibrant nature of the rest of the drawing, perhaps could be suggestive of the light which comes into our own lives and that it is actually of our own doing, not necessarily the product of the forces around us. The box is made out of high quality paper mache and has a hinge at the top. Above and below the hinge, and all around the sides, is a stylish gold ornament. The box sits flat, without legs. Smirnova drew some extra small gold drawings under the lid (a hare) and on the bottom of the box (a bouquet) of flowers and so the box just beckons to be held in one hands, opened, turned and admired. It is signed with the name of hte artist, title, village and year at the bottom of the drawing.