Hand Painted Fedoskino Russian Lacquer Box Reading The Tealeaves By Shchabunin
Description: This is a nice square shaped paper-mache or papier-mache Russian Lacquer Box with hinged lid from Fedoskino. The box, which has a hinged lid and a flat base with four feet at the corners, has a very colorful decorated top. The top of the lid is decorated with a well-executed hand painted image of two women sitting at a table with a teapot sitting on top of a samovar. One woman, obviously a fortune teller, is holding a teacup in her hand and pointing a finger at the other woman in front of her. The second woman it listening attentively while holding the saucer of the cup in the other woman's hand. This is obviously a fortune telling session where the first woman is reading the tealeaves in the cup of the other woman. The box is marked Fedoskino and is signed by the artist with both words being in Cyrillic. Both women are sitting on chairs and have dresses that are made brilliant by MOP and are decorated with small flowers. There is a carpet on the floor and a table cloth on the table. Both women have a head covers. The artwork is executed very well with great detail by Shchabunin and is signed by him along the bottom edge of the lid. The box is not dated but is also marked Fedoskino. The sides of the box have a gold repeating motif on all four sides with white colored dots extending all around the box. The top of the lid also has the white dot decoration along the edge. The box is marked along the bottom edge of the design with the words "Fedoskino" followed by the signature of the artist Shchabunin A. (see photos). The miniature painting is well made, colorful, and shows great details of women's faces and expressions, dresses and decorations of the dresses, and the detailed of the room. The painting shows details in gold, MOP, and egg tempera and as usual is rather colorful. The inside of the box is colored in the usual red color used in Russian lacquer boxes. Please carefully review the photos as they are part and parcel of our description.
Date: Unknown but most likely late 1900s (Late 20th century).
Origin: The village of Fedoskino near Moscow Russia.
Size: The box measures ~3 5/8" by ~3 5/8" and is ~2 1/8" high when closed. The box weighs slightly over 6 ounces.
Artist: Shchabunin.
Marks: Marked "Fedoskino" followed by the signature of the artist "Shchabunin. A" along the edge of the box below the artwork.
Distinguishing Characteristics - Most Interesting About The Piece: A beautiful and well done design with vivid colors. Gold, MOP, and egg tempera make this nice box a good addition to your collection of Russian Lacquer Boxes.
Condition: The box is in good condition. The box has no cracks, breaks, repairs, or hairlines. It is signed but not dated and has indication of where it was made. The artwork has crazing lines where the MOP of the two dresses meets the painted portion, this represents the only crazing lines we could identify. Other than that, the lid has a small bump at bottom right corner which we show in the last photos. The surface of the box has a few scratches and minor rubbing signs especially on the bottom of the feet. Be that as it may, the art work on top of the lid is intact, beautiful, well executed, and in very good shape with no losses or fading. The hinge works well and is intact. The interior is clean with vivid red coloring and exhibits no losses. Because of the issues we have outlined here we are selling the piece "AS IS" at a fraction of its true value. Please view the photos for additional condition information.
