This casket by Palekh artist A. Kosach offers a lot of well drawn scenes for the price. On each side, the artist paints different parts of the Emelya fairy tale (which you can read here). The expressions of the faces and characters throughout are very well done, and the little feet on the pails is nothing short of adorable. Somehow missing in the detail photos here is the drawing on the top where Emelya is holding the magic pike, which has a funny juxtaposition of Emelya's face ("oh boy, what have I gotten myself into?") and the pike with his alligator-like teeth ("grrrrr"). The box is made out of papier mache and has a hinge at the top. The bottom surface has a slightly concave shape and lifts some of the bottom just slightly off the surface of the table. A modest gold and silver ornament adorns the edges of the box. The box is signed with the name of the artist, village and year. There is an awful lot to like in this fine work from Palekh.

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.)