Vintage Kholuy Russian Lacquer Box Signed Little Humpbacked Horse Hand Painted

A beautiful vintage Russian lacquer miniature box from Kholuy, one of the celebrated traditional centres of Russian lacquer miniature painting.

The lid is intricately hand painted with a scene from the famous Russian fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse” (Конёк-Горбунок) by Pyotr Yershov.

Despite measuring only 7.5 cm across, the miniature contains a remarkable amount of detail. The composition depicts the horse and rider against a wonderfully dramatic landscape of swirling blue waves, the great sea creature/whale, tiny figures, distant buildings and a vivid red-orange sky.

The lower edge of the painting carries handwritten Cyrillic inscriptions identifying the subject and Kholuy, together with an artist’s inscription/signature. The artist’s name is difficult to decipher and I have therefore deliberately not attributed the work to a particular painter.

The box has a traditional glossy black lacquer exterior with a rich red lacquered interior and fine decorative detailing around the painted miniature.

Details

• Origin: Kholuy, Russia
• Subject: The Little Humpbacked Horse / Конёк-Горбунок
• Material: lacquered papier-mâché
• Hand-painted miniature decoration
• Signed/inscribed in Cyrillic
• Approx. size: 7.5 × 3.5 × 2.5 cm
• Red lacquer interior
• Vintage collectable Russian folk art

Condition

Vintage condition with some light surface and age-related wear consistent with previous ownership. There are small marks and imperfections visible under close inspection, particularly around the lacquer and edges. Please study all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the description.

A particularly attractive small-scale example of the Kholuy lacquer miniature tradition, with an unusually detailed narrative composition for its size.