Fedoskino artist Svetlana Chirkova paints the idealized image of a young woman on this small and exquisite oval shaped box. As with all of Chirkova's works, the artist paints her face with great beauty. Elaborate tresses of her curly hair hang down to her shoulders, and part of the woman's body is tastefully covered up by the radiant red flowers. The woman has an aura of perfection about her and she is not really for those of us in this mortal world. The stretched out fingers of her hands, which peek through the flowers near the bottom of the drawing, seem to drive home this point -- we can look, but we can't come any closer. The entire image is drawn in the form of a leaf which extends down to the sides, and to just a little bit on the bottom, as well. The sides and bottom are blue, the interior is red. The box is made out of high quality papier mache and has a hinge at the left. It is signed with the name of the artist, village, year and title. Another outstanding piece by Chirkova.

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.)