Ivan and the Tsar Maiden fly through the air on the back of the long eared Humpbacked Pony. The Chewda-Youda whale bears the burden of a small village on his back and looks almost as flat as a pancake because of the weight. The box is relatively small, yet the artist N. Lopatkina worked in a number of other elements of the Humpbacked Pony fairy tale, too, including the tsar maiden's tent, the Sun, the Moon, a sailing ship and the box which holds the much sought-after ring. Everything is colorfully painted with comical touches in the faces of the Humpbacked Pony and the whale. There is a fine silver and gold ornament around the composition and an even nicer one at the side. The box is made out of high quality papier mache and has a hinge at the left. The lid of the box and the base are just a fraction of an inch off of where they meet, but it would probably go unnoticed by most people. (In handling hundreds of these boxes, though, we tend to notice everything.) The interior is red and it sits on four carved legs. A fine traditional work from the village of Kholui.

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	9.5	10.0	48.5	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.)