The Magi and the shepherds gather around Holy Mary and Christ, celebrating the great miracle of his birth. Dressed in rich garments, the Magi offer their gifts of myrrh, frankincense, and gold. One of them is kneeling down humbly before the promised King, who extends his right arm towards the Magi, as if in a gesture of blessing. In the right corner of the scene, the Magi's horseman is holding a horse by the bridle. The city's towers and folk are seen far in the background.

Jesus's face bears an expression of purity and gentleness, and a circle of radiance surrounds his golden hair. Holy Mary leans slightly over him, supporting one of Jesus's arms, and seems to look directly in the eyes of one surveying the scene. Her garment spreads majestically across the forefront of the painting. A shepherd to the left joins her in gazing forward at the viewer, while another shepherd looks up to the sky, catching the golden rays of the Star of Bethlehem.

This
beautiful nativity scene is a joint work of two Palekh artists, Vera Smirnova and Uriy Pozhidaev: Uriy Pazhidaev is the author of the scene, while Vera Smirnova painted the faces. The work is painted on high quality papier mache box. A delicate gold ornament surrounds the scene, and a more complex gold and silver ornament decorates the sides of the box. The box rests on four small round legs, and has a hinge at the top. The interior is red. It is signed with the artists' names, village, and year. The work was done very recently, so lacquer is in pristine condition.