This small elegantly shaped box by Evgeniya Nebogatova depicts some of the encounters of a little yellow spherical being, and this fellow is just as cute as he can be. See those cheeks? The story is based on an East Slavic fairy tale. In the words of Wikipedia: "He is accidentally created by an old man and his wife, as a bread dish, when he suddenly becomes animated and escapes from their home. The fairy tale's plot describes Kolobok's repetitive meetings with various animals (rabbit, wolf, and bear) who intend to eat it, but Kolobok cunningly escapes. With each animal Kolobok sings a song in which he explains his escape deductively: "I got away from Grandmother, I got away from Grandfather, and I will certainly get away from you". We'll leave off the ending (it's not a happy one), but he was probably pretty tasty! The box is beautifully done by Nebogatova on all sides and though it is small, it will stand tall among the giants in your collection. Nebogatova excels in painting animals, so this story is made for her style as she depicts a variety of little creatures. The top of the box, which has a gorgeous gold and silver ornament, lifts off to reveal a traditional red interior. The box is made out of high quality papier mache and sits on four small legs. Signed on the lid with the name of the artist and village. This one has that unique quality of making you smile, yet still being very exquisite.

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.)