A menagerie of wildlife is deftly painted on the spherical surface of this smallish box. You'll see a squirrel, hedgehog, small rodents, and many species of birds, and even a small bee which you could easily be overlooked. One creature, though, that you can't miss is a wood grouse, often depicted in the world of lacquer art. The wood grouse stands out here not nol only because of its size, but because of the gold background and the delicate gold leaf accents that help define his feathers and tail. Perhaps the cutest scene of all (which we really didn't get a good photo of), is on top where a squirrel nibbles at some strawberries and a small bird is positioned just above him on a branch. The sphere sits on a pedestal raised slightly off the surface of the table by the curvature of its base. The box is made out of high quality papier mache. It signed with the name of the artist (Demidov) and village. Very well done!

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	9.5	10.0	10.0	10.0	49	N/A

(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.)