Russian Hand Painted Lacquer Box Mstera Scheherazade Tales

Condition: very good condition, no scratches, no chips, no cracks, no repairs, from a local estate.

There are four traditional centers of miniature lacquered box painting in Russia, which today have become the most famous. They are Fedoskino, Palekh, Mstera and Kholui. They make up a tightly knit family, influencing each other and enriching each other, with each one having its own individual character. Mstera holds a special place in this group, due to its more ancient and maybe more colorful traditions. A special place in the Mstera icon painting tradition was held by Byzantine art, the successors of which were first and foremost the Vladimir and Suzdal icon painters. The Byzantine technique of painting with flux and Byzantine icon painting was preserved in Mstera for many centuries, right up until the start of the 20th century.