Vintage Russian Mstera Lacquer Casket – 5 Hand Painted Miniatures – Signed

Vintage Russian Mstera Hand-Painted Lacquer Miniature Casket

A particularly unusual Russian lacquer miniature casket from the renowned Mstera school of miniature painting.

Unlike the more commonly encountered lacquer boxes decorated only on the lid, this small footed casket is extensively decorated with five separate hand-painted narrative scenes, with a composition to the lid and a further painting to each of the four sides.

The colourful miniature paintings are surrounded by intricate hand-painted gold foliate decoration against the glossy black lacquer ground. The interior is traditionally finished in rich red lacquer.

The box bears fine handwritten Cyrillic inscriptions beneath the painted scenes, including its Mstera identification and an artist’s inscription/signature. I have deliberately not attributed the work to a particular artist as I have been unable to decipher the artist’s name with sufficient confidence.

Mstera is one of the historic Russian centres of lacquer miniature painting, with its tradition developing from the area’s earlier icon-painting heritage.

Dimensions: approximately 8.5 cm × 6 cm × 6.5 cm.

Condition: This is a vintage piece with considerable age-related condition issues. Most importantly, the painting on the lid has significant cracking, lifting and areas of paint/lacquer loss, clearly visible in the photographs. There is also general crazing, rubbing and age-related wear elsewhere. The four painted side panels remain substantially intact and retain strong colour and extensive detail.

No restoration has been attempted and the box is being offered in its present condition. Because of the fragile surface, I would recommend that the new owner avoids cleaning or attempting to flatten any raised areas of lacquer.

Despite the condition of the lid, this remains a fascinating and unusually elaborate example of Russian Mstera lacquer miniature work, particularly because of its five separately painted surfaces, footed casket form and surviving original inscriptions.

Please study all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.

A characterful collector’s piece with plenty of presence despite its diminutive size.