The Snow Maiden ~ USSR Prison 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 Snow Maiden also known as Snegurochka is a unique character of Russian folklore & an essential part of New Year’s celebrations. The origins of Snegurochka are contradictory. According to USSR legend, she is the daughter of Father Frost and the Snow Queen. However another fairytale tells a story of an old man and woman who had always regretted that they did not have any children. In winter they made a girl out of snow. The snow maiden came alive and became the daughter they never had. They called her Snegurochka. But when the summer sun began to warm the land, the girl became very sad. One day she went into the woods with a group of village girls to pick flowers. It began to get dark and the girls made a fire and began playfully jumping over the flames. Snegurochka also jumped, but suddenly she melted and turned into a white cloud.

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.