Vintage Russian Palekh Lacquer Box: Hand-Painted Folk Art Trinket (11.5cm)

Vintage Russian Palekh Hand-Painted Lacquer Box

A beautiful vintage Russian lacquer miniature box from Palekh, one of Russia’s best-known centres of traditional lacquer miniature painting.

This attractive example has an unusual faceted geometric form and features a colourful hand-painted scene depicting a young couple beside water, surrounded by flowers, trees and landscape. Fine gold-painted details and an elaborate decorative border contrast beautifully against the deep black lacquer ground.

The miniature is inscribed in Cyrillic along the lower edge, including “ПАЛЕХ” (Palekh) together with further inscription and what appear to be the artist’s initials “А. Ю.”. I have not been able to identify the individual painter with sufficient certainty, so no specific artist attribution is being made.

The box has a traditional glossy black exterior with a striking red lacquered interior, hinged lid and finely decorated upper surface.

Palekh developed a distinctive tradition of miniature lacquer painting on papier-mâché, drawing heavily upon the region’s earlier icon-painting tradition. Characteristic features include black backgrounds, vivid colours, elongated figures and extensive use of fine gold ornamentation.

Dimensions:
Approx. 11.5 cm long × 8 cm wide × 3 cm high

Condition:
Very good vintage condition overall, with some light surface marks and minor age-related wear consistent with previous ownership. The painted miniature remains bright and attractive, and the interior presents particularly well. Please study all photographs carefully as these form an important part of the description.

A particularly decorative example with an appealing larger size and unusual faceted shape. It would make a lovely addition to a collection of Russian lacquer miniatures, folk art or decorative boxes.

Era: Vintage
Approximate date: Late 20th century
Country/region: Russia
Origin: Palekh
Primary material: Papier-mâché
Finish: Lacquer
Style: Russian folk art / lacquer miniature
Colour: Black, red, multicoloured
Subject: Figures / romantic folk scene
Vintage: Yes