The well known story of Cinderella is drawn here by Palekh artist Vera Smirnova, who shows the moment where the Fairy Godmother appears in the young woman's life. Sminova places a lot of small objects in this painting, all related to the menial tasks she is forced to endure. But the Godmother has come to change her life forever, eventually leading to her escaping this daily drudgery, and from the insults of her sisters. Her good fortune is like a dream, and Smirnova paints the Godmother using only gold leaf, seemingly blurring the lines between what is real and what is imagined. The colors here are subtle, and with the gold leaf, complement each other excceedingly well. A moment of levity is mixed in, too, with the adorable cat, his very long tail, and comical eyes. The box has a traditional gold leaf border that winds aroundd the sides. It sits on four small legs, has a hinge at the top, and is made out of high quality papier mache. Signed on the bottom of the drawing with the name of the artist, village and year.