Box (Fedoskino lacquer miniature). USSR 1950

Box (Fedoskino lacquer miniature). USSR 1950
Size: 9 x 12.5 cm, height 4 cm. Weight: 170 g. Good condition. There are some chips on the rim of the lid. Microcracks along the edge of the image at the top and scratches in the center. On the inside of the lid there is a 1.8 x 3.7 cm silver plaque with an engraved dedication inscription.

Fedoskino miniature is a folk craft, a type of Russian lacquer miniature painting with oil paints on papier-mâché, which took shape at the end of the 18th century in the village of Fedoskino near Moscow.

"Fedoskino lacquer miniature" is executed with oil paints in three or four layers - sequentially applied overlay (general sketch of the composition), prescription or grinding (more detailed study), glazing (modeling the image with transparent paints) and glare (completion of the work with light paints that transmit glare to subjects). The original Fedoskino technique is "through writing": a reflective material is applied to the surface before painting - metal powder, gold leaf or leaf, or inserts are made of mother-of-pearl. Shining through transparent layers of glaze paints, these linings give the image depth, a glowing effect. In addition to miniature painting, products are decorated with "filigree" (an ornament made of miniature pieces of foil of the desired shape is laid out over the raw varnish), "diverging" (scratching the pattern with a piece of varnish placed on top of a sheet of metal on the surface of the product), "plaid" applied with liquid paints with a drawing pen using a ruler), etc.

Masterly mastery of the technique of writing with transparent glazing paints, the brightness of which is enhanced by the contrast with the shimmering black lacquer background, the ability honed by several generations of masters to correlate the composition of painting with the shape of the product, made the works of Fedoskino miniaturists popular not only in Russia, but also in Europe.

The assortment of the factory's products was very diverse - chests, boxes, boxes of various shapes and sizes, album covers, tea caddies, eyeglass cases, wallets, Easter eggs, etc. The last of the Lukutins - Nikolai Alexandrovich, a well-known Moscow industrialist, collector and patron of the arts, supported the Fedoskino production that did not bring him profit. In 1893 he built a new manor house, which also housed painting workshops. In 1904, two years after the death of N. A. Lukutin, the factory was closed. Some of the craftsmen went to work for V.O. Vishnyakov, who had a relatively large home workshop in the village of Ostashkovo, ten kilometers from Fedoskin.