Russian Folk Tales and Lacquer Boxes
- Mar 3
- 2 min read
by Delaynna Trim, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Curator
Since it is cold and love is in the air with Valentine’s Day, it got me thinking about Russian folk tales like The Snowmaiden or Father Frost and the Maiden, otherwise known as Morozko. Many Russian folk tales are the basis for our classic fairy tales such as Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and many more. Just like Grimm’s fairy tales, the Russian folk tales tend to be grimmer than we are used to.
The Scarlet Flower is very similar to the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale where a girl asks her father for a scarlet flower which leads to her living with the “beast” who, of course, turns into a handsome prince at the end. The Princess and the Seven Bogatyrs is remarkably close to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves except the Bogatyrs are tall and handsome, more like a Medieval knight.
Many of these folk tales are painted onto Russian lacquer boxes. Did you know that many of them are painted with two and three-hair brushes!
To create the papier mâché boxes, thin sheets of cardboard are sliced, glued and pressed together. While the glue is still wet, they are wrapped around various forms including rectangular, square, round or cylindrical. Then, it is placed in a hot linseed oil bath and dried over a period of 30 days.
The outside of the box is covered with
two or three coats of black lacquer, waiting a day between each coat. The inside is covered with two to three coats of red lacquer, again waiting a day between coats. Then, the box is covered with several coats of clear lacquer, both inside and out. Now, the box is ready for painting.
The artist outlines the design on the box, coats it with zinc, aluminum, or titanium for a metallic ground layer, and then they begin painting. Extremely fine brushes are used, often sable or fur from the tail of a squirrel. After the painting is finished, the box is then polished and lacquered several more times. It takes usually from 45-60 days to create a box using this method.
Art Project For this and Valentine’s Day related art visit, https://www.mgmoa.org/art-projects/
Make Your Own Russian Box
Supplies: papier mâché box (from a craft supply store), paint and brushes, or paint markers
Paint the bottom part of the box, and the sides of the lid black
Paint the top of the lid white to make it easier to decorate
Draw your design onto the white lid
Paint your design using paint markers or paint and small brushes
Paint the inside of the bottom of the box red
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