Show all images on one page	#004307 Title: Alice in Wonderland Artist: Smirnova Vera Size: 19.5x26x8 Size (inches): 7.75x10.25x3.25 Price : $2200 SOLD!

This suberb box is painted by well-known artist Vera Smirnova. Smirnova is a Palekh artist who is at the Top of her field now. Many artists are trying to emulate her works. This work shows that her skill with the tempera medium is immense, by her depiction of the characters and their faces. It is rare that an artist has such a good blend of skill, talent, and technical knowledge, which she excels at with every work she paints.
Here the artist has drawn various characters from Lewis Carroll's classic tale “Alice in Wonderland”. In the middle of the composition we can see a flying Alice. Above her head the Cheshire Cat lies on a branch of the big tree. From the right of Alice the artist has drawn the tea party in the Hat's house. From the left of the Cheshire Cat we can see a Rabbit. The left upper corner shows the Caterpillar who smokes the hookah while the right bottom corner depicts the Mouse crossing the pool of Alice's tears. In the left bottom corner we can see the violent Queen of Hearts who orders to chop off the three card gardeners' heads to her soldiers.
The composition is an utter delight. The palette is diverse and holds a wide range of colors. Smirnova is able to tightly compose the characters to give the scene maximum efficiency, without looking crowded or bunched up. She works in details with gold and aluminum paint that are fine and make the scene radiate with a tremendous glow. These lines are so thin that they give the characters and their surroundings the life-like clarity within this stylized world.
The box's sides are adorned with a rich gold leafy pattern on which small additional subjects are painted. In the middle of each of the box's sides Smirnova has drawn a scene on the tale's theme using tempera paints. On the box's front side we can see the playing cards of Queen and King of Hearts surrounded with other cards; the left side shows the playing cards; on the right side Smirnova has painted the White Rabbit who trumpets his pipe and Alice standing near a bush of white flowers; and the rear side depicts the Cheshire Cat peeping out from the playing cards.
The box is constructed from paper-mache. Black lacquer is used to paint the exterior of the box while red lacquer completes the interior of the work. A hinge is fastened to the left of the scene, and the box rests on four legs. The work is signed with the artist's name, Palekh, and the year of 2008.
Excellent collector's piece!