Show all images on one page	#003228 Title: Baba Yaga Artist: Medvedeva Antonina Size: 16.5x13.5x4.5 Size (inches): 6.5x5.25x1.75 Price : $250 SOLD!

This colorful box has been painted by the Mstera artist Antonina Medvedeva. Her highly original works are much in demand by collectors. The subject of this box is a Russian fairy-tale "Baba-Yaga". The tale tells about a little girl who's managed to outwit the evil witch Baba-Yaga. The girl's stepmother sends her to Baba-Yaga to ask her for a needle and threads to sew a shirt. But the real reason of this decision is absolutely another. The stepmother hates her stepdaughter and dreams of her death. She is sure that Baba-Yaga will eat the girl. But the girl is very brave, clever and kind. People and animals serve her, and by means of their help she manages to outwit Baba-Yaga. The end of this tale is happy: the girl comes back home and her cruel stepmother is punished.
The composition shows Baba-Yaga cooking her magic potion. She is throwing toadstools, toads, snakes, different insects and herbs into a big pot. Close to her the artist depicts the animals and the subjects that are always in Baba-Yaga's use: a black cat, an owl, a mortar and a broom. In the background Baba-Yaga's hut standing on chicken legs is depicted.
The composition is bright and multicolored. The colors are based on earth tones that show natural beauty of the forest. The figures of Baba-Yaga and animals are painted with tremendous detail. The landscape is also exquisitely done; it does a great deal in setting the tranquil mood for the eye.
The scene is framed with a simple gold band, while the edges of the lid are decorated with a more complex gold floral design. The sides of the box are adorned with large and intricate floral patterns painted in gold and brown tones. In the center of each pattern the artist depicts different images: the image of Baba-Yaga is painted on the front side, two similar images of the white owl are painted opposite each other and the image of Baba-Yaga's hut is painted on the back side. The box is made out of paper-mache. Black lacquer covers the exterior and red lacquer covers the interior of the box. The box has a hinge above the composition and has a flat bottom. It is signed with the name of the artist, village and title.