Three brothers shoot arrows into the air in order to find their future bride. The arrows lead two of the brothers to lovely maidens, while the third brother, Ivan, finds that a frog has the arrow in his clutches. Marry a frog?! Well, maybe, and you can read the fairy tale to find the whole story.

Here Ivan holds the tiny little creature in his hand, contemplating his fate. Traces of smiles can be seen on almost all of the people in the scene and the beautiful sun on the horizon adds to the the uplifting spirit of the piece. Palekh artist S. Terentiev did a superb job in the application of gold leaf and silver to the many objects in the composition, which glow radiantly against the warm colors of summer. The clothing of each person is particularly impressive with hundreds of razor thin lines showing the variety of designs and contours of the fabric. A dot ornament frames the drawing and there is a silver and gold ornament that decorates the sides. The box is made out of paper mache and has a hinge at the top. It stands on four legs. The interior is red. Signed at the bottom of the drawing with the name of the artist and village.

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
9.0	9.5	10.0	10.0	10.0	48.5	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.)