The spirit of winter seems to come to life in this pretty,small box by Pavel Sennitskij of Fedoskino. A young boy and his pet St. Bernard dog are out in the snow, enjoying a winter day. Perhaps the boy has made a snow-woman that seems to come to life, or perhaps they have come across some natural ice formation that takes on a woman's characteristics. Exactly how the vision comes about is open to the viewer's interpretation. The attractive palette used by the artist here, and Sennitskij's fine work, make this box quite appealing.

Sennitskij uses mainly a lovely greyish blue for the background, and a complementary lavender color in the boy's coat and hat. The boy's skin tone and the brown and warmer white in the dog's fur provide a slight contrast with these cool shades, but not so much so that the scene's wintry feeling is lost. The Winter Vision herself is drawn in ghostly grey and white, and painted over an inlay of mother-of-pearl that gives it an icy brightness. You can seethe back end of the dog through the vision, an interesting touch that adds to the fantasy of the composition. The side sare mostly shades of blue in a marble pattern. This color is similar to that of the sky in the drawing, and it unifies the entire miniature quite nicely. The box is made from high-quality papier-mache, with a hinge and flat bottom. It is signed with the name of the artist and the year (2002). Very creative high quality miniature!--BOX1125

Lacquerbox Condition Ratings

Surface Condition (exterior)	Surface Condition (interior/bottom)	Box Materials and Soundness	Hinge and Lid Placement	Signature	Total Rating	Mother-of-pearl Condition
9.5	9.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	48.5	9.5

(Each category rated 1-10. For low scores, look for explanation in the description of box. In general, any total rating over 40 is excellent. For more information on rating system, click here.)