Bidspirit auction | Nikolai Ivanovich Golikov (1924–2011)

Nikolai Ivanovich Golikov (1924–2011) - Box “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”. Palekh, USSR, 1989. Papier-mâché, egg tempera, gold highlights, lacquer. The artist’s signature “N. Golikov. 1989” together with the inscription “Palekh” confirms the work’s status as a fully autograph composition by one of the leading masters of Palekh lacquer art. 27 × 20 cm. Condition report: Minor traces of handling. Well-preserved lacquer surface and painted decoration. Provenance: An authentic late-period masterpiece by Nikolai Ivanovich Golikov from the Golikov family archive. Created in 1989, the work belongs to the mature phase of the artist’s career, when his celebrated “flying” style achieved remarkable monumentality and decorative freedom. The box remained carefully preserved within the family collection as one of the most ambitious and visually striking works from the artist’s Pushkin cycle. Large-scale narrative compositions based on Pushkin’s fairy tales are regarded among the finest achievements of late 20th-century Palekh lacquer art and rarely appear on the market. A work in which Nikolai Golikov creates a grand fairy-tale panorama inspired by The Tale of Tsar Saltan . Across the lid of the box unfolds an entire theatrical universe populated by ancient Russian architecture, fantastical landscapes, and numerous figures drawn from Pushkin’s celebrated epic. At the center stands the Swan Princess - one of the most poetic and iconic images in Russian art. Emerging from dark swirling waters in a luminous white veil, the heroine becomes both the emotional and compositional focal point of the work. The work is remarkable for the richness of its decorative language. Emerald, gold, and coral tones blaze against the deep mirror-black lacquer background, creating the appearance of a precious enamel surface. Despite the complexity of the multi-figure composition, the artist preserves exceptional clarity, rhythmic balance, and narrative harmony throughout the surface. Collecting & Investment Potential: Nikolai Ivanovich Golikov is recognized as one of the foremost Palekh masters of the twentieth century, whose works are represented in major museum and private collections. This work is especially important due to direct provenance from the family archive, large exhibition-scale format, fully signed authorship, highly sophisticated multi-figure composition, inclusion within the celebrated Pushkin cycle, exceptional decorative refinement, rare state of preservation for a work of this scale. Large-format lacquer boxes by Golikov from the late 1980s are exceptionally rare and highly sought after by serious collectors of museum-quality Russian lacquer art. An outstanding signed masterpiece by Nikolai Golikov is a monumental late Palekh composition uniting the poetry of Pushkin’s fairy tale with virtuoso decorative brilliance and the highest level of artistic mastery.