Anyone familiar with Russian fairy tales will recognize the hero of this charming little box: simple country boy Ivan, whose act of letting the horse go and other kind deeds will pave a way for him to become a tsar and marry a beautiful tsar-maiden. The morale of this fairy tale, which you can read in full here ___ is that the key to success and happiness lies in being good to others.
On this particular box, however, Ivan is portrayed heroically restraining the horse that has been trampling over his father's fields. The artist did a wonderful job at using multiple bright colors to create a composition that is both vibrant and balanced: the dark blue sky serves as a nice backdrop to the light blue horse, whose mane is of more saturated orange shade than the wheat fields painted below. Ivan's bright red shirt and hat bring him forward as the main subject, and the brown and green earthy shades serve as background to the country side scenery.
The box is made of high quality papier mache. It sits flat, does not have a hinge, and opens to a red interior. The lacquer is in very good shape. A neat ornament surrounds the painting. The top is signed with the name of the composition, while the bottom has the name of the village and artist's signature. On the bottom of the box an old "Made in USSR" sticker is attached.