This long box shows three encounters between the man and the bear in the little tale "The Muzhik and the Bear". The right and the left show the man and bear working together to grow turnips (on the left) and wheat (on the right). And in the center, the man and bear are engaged in seemingly goodhearted negotiations to decide who gets what from the harvest. Unfortunately for the bear, though, the man is a bit smarter and the bear will get the leafy tops (yuck!) from the turnips and the hard roots of the wheat. The man was able to reap the benefits from his hard labor, while the bear was left, let's say, with a very bad taste in his mouth... The drawing is beautifully detailed with a multitude of plants, crops and flowers everwhere. Each one is accented in radiant gold giving the surface a very luxurious look. Nebogatova excels in painting animals, and the bear here is as charming as can be, though ultimately he becomes the fool. The drawing is framed with a nice gold ornament on the top, and slightly more elaborate one on the sides. The box is made out of high quality papier mache and has a hinge at the back. It is signed with the name of the artist, village 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.)