Lacquer box artist Tatyana Smirnova uses the fairy tale of "The Scarlet Flower" as the basis for this piece showing the girl holding a red flower and looking sadly to her right. The head of the beast emerges from the dark green woods. Although she is his captive, he does not look all that menacing. And, in fact, in the end, he turns out to be her true love. The girl's dress is drawn with a lovely golden radiance. Six red gemstone beads are placed there, as well, and rise just above the surface of the box. An orange castle, from where she came, stands out prominently to the right. The box is adorned at the top with a gold dot ornament and a more elaborate gold ornament adorns the sides. It is made out of papier mache and does not have a hinge. 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.)