Show all images on one page	#002153 Title: Brave Tailor Artist: Lebedev Ivan Size: 15x13.5x4 Size (inches): 6x5.25x1.5 Price : $950 SOLD!

Ivan Lebedev from the village of Palekh created this elegantly shaped box. It features the tale "The Brave Tailor" written by brothers Grimm. It is the Christmas tale that tells about adventures of the poor tailor. Once he sat in his atelier and thought that it would be very pleasant to taste fresh tasty jam. At that moment he heard the voice of a market girl who sold fruit jam (the girl is depicted in the left part of the composition). He called her, tasted the jam but was able to buy only a drop of it because he was very poor. When the girl left seven flies started to spin over the drop of jam. The tailor succeeded in killing them all at one blow. As a joke he took the velvet ribbon and embroidered on it the following inscription: "I have killed seven ones at one blow" (this scene is painted in the center). Because of this ribbon he later lost his job because it was a part of a client's suit, and he spoiled it with the silly inscription. One cold windy evening he again met the girl who sold the jam. She was very cold and hungry. The tailor offered her to put on his jacket, and from that moment they became friends. They decided to go different directions to find happiness but agreed to meet under the Christmas tree on the eve of Christmas. The girl went to sell her jam, and the tailor found himself in the forest. There he met the king's servants who said him that they were looking for a brave man. When they saw the tailor's ribbon, they caught him and led to the tsar. The tsar charged the tailor with killing the Giant. The tailor didn't kill the Giant, but he succeeded to deceive him and the Giant left the king's forest (in the right part of the scene we can see the tailor deceiving the Giant who lies on the hill under the tree). In the end of the story the tailor met with the girl under the Christmas tree, and they endowed each other with rich presents.
The background sky, the sewing machine, the table and the stool are painted in gold paints. Gold paints together with aluminum paints are also used to fill the scene with various minute details.
The exterior of the box including the edges of the lid and the box's sides are decorated with beautiful gold and aluminum ornamentation.
The box is made out of paper-mache. Black lacquer covers its exterior and red lacquer covers its interior. The box has a hinge from the left of the composition and rests on legs. The work is signed with the artist's name, the year of 2004, the title and the village of Palekh.