The Frog Princess Lacquer Box ~ Vintage

Description

This handmade lacquered altar box is truly beautiful & magical! The little apple opens up and can be used to hold your whispers, spells, incantations, petitions, or small sacred amulets right in plain sight.

The Frog Princess is a fairy tale that has multiple versions with various origins. Alexander Afanasyev collected variants in his Narodnye russkie skazki, a collection which included folk tales from Ukraine and Belarus alongside Russian tales.

Russian Lacquer Painting developed from the art of icon painting, which came to an end with the collapse of Imperial Russia. The Orthodox Icon painters, who previously had been employed by supplying not only churches but people’s homes, needed a way to make a living. Thus, the craft of making papier-mâché decorative boxes and panels developed, the items were lacquered and then hand painted by the artists, often depicting scenes from Slavic folktales and folklore. This handmade box is made of papier-mâché and is painstakingly hand-painted in the Russian lacquer miniature style. The careful and detailed painting makes the miniature painting unique. The other materials used in the making of the box are linseed oil, varnish, tempera, and gold leaf.

The lacquered miniature box is not only a beautiful treasure; it is a true piece of art. Each piece is unique and can become a family heirloom or beautify any altar.