Lel, from the fairy tale of the "Snow Maiden", plays a tune and draws the attention of a variety of creatures from the forest, including several birds, a squirrel and a deer. A small group of old houses stands deep in the background. The artist, Vera Chibisova, paints Lel and all the animals with extreme intricacy and sensitivity. Delicate lines of gold form the strands in his hair and accentuate other objects in the scene, as well. Making an even stronger visual impression is the highly radiant gold leaf on the neck piece of Lel and in the incredible ornament which cradles the composition at the bottom and winds around the side. This elaborate ornament incorporates flowers, leaf, and bird designs, and is set against base colors of blue and black. (Note: The gold in the photos here does not look quite the same as in person. Very hard to capture the consistency of the gold when taking pictures of it since so much depends on the lighting and angle. In short, the gold and box look much better in real life!) The bottom of the box is entirely black and sits on four small rounded legs. The box is made out of high quality papier mache. The inside is red and is signed with the name of the artist, village, title and year.

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.)