Featured Russian Lacquer Boxes

Hi,
I'm trying to find a site to research Russian Lacquer boxes, I thought I saw a site posted here a while ago but I'm not able to find it. I'm always picking them up and would like to learn more about them.
thanks for looking

 

I always love them. I don't know if this is the site you were looking for, but it has good info on the different styles:
http://www.russianlacquerart.com/cnt/Palekh
This is the page for Palekh, the other lacquerware producing towns are in the sidebar.

 

These are beautiful!

 

Gorgeous!

 

thanks AJ I'll check the site out. Truthfully I can't remember the name of the other site, but I remember looking through it and it had lots of information.
thanks aaron and Lucille

 

Beautiful...I love these too.

 

So pretty.

 

That's a nice crop of boxes......I like em too !!

 

Same here.

 

thank-you folks I like them too!

 

Never seen those before they are pretty special. Amazed at the detail compared to some japanese ones which are really tourist items I would gather. Would these be more specific as artwork or tourist items

 

Would these be more specific as artwork or tourist items

Chris, I think the best answer to that is BOTH, but most of those available at reasonable prices are likely to have been made for export. Many of them illustrate popular Russian folktales.

There used to be a store in Rockefeller Center in NYC that sold ONLY Russian lacquer boxes - and SOME of them were way beyond expensive! I'm talking in the thousands of dollars here - but, wow, were they exquisite! (NOT your normal tourist stuff, for sure.)

I have a couple dozen of these boxes myself, none terribly old (mine are from the mid-1970's thru the early 1990's.) There was a store in the DC area that once sponsored a "by-invitation only" cocktail party with three of Russia's then-famous painters of the higher end boxes. I went to the party, but I didn't buy any boxes that night - again, the prices were astronomical!)

I have always kept mine in display cabinets, behind glass. I don't think the humidity should change much inside the cabinets, yet I've noticed of late that some of my boxes have begun to craze and/or show surface crackling.
These are not the phenomenally expensive ones, but they were all rather pricey back in the day...

Has anyone else had this happen? The damage makes me very sad, and I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong.

 

I haven't had this on my boxes, I only have two left, both from the 70s. I have one on my desk and another on a window sill (north facing, no direct sunlight), so no protection at all.
My mother had some gorgeous Palekh boxes, Firebird, etc. They were on top of a little cabinet for decades, so no protection either. They still looked pristine when we sold them, after she passed away.
Could it be fumes from the wood of your display cabinets? Just a wild guess....

I found this site:
http://buyrussiangifts.com/index.php?route=pages/story-pages&story_id=2
They advise storing them in a cotton lined box, but then you never see them.
They also advise windex if there is any spill or residue, something I wouldn't even dare to use on lacquer.

Here is one of those gorgeous high-end boxes, from Fedoskino:



http://www.tristarmedia.com/bestofrussia/fedoskino.html

​

 

Geez, AJ... If I wanted to store them in a "cotton lined box", I wouldn't bother having them!

I do have some of the high-end boxes, and they're "crackling" just as badly as some of the less expensive ones! (Meanwhile, I have some mid-range ones, purchased in Alaska in the 1980's, that are doing just fine...)

As my millennial-aged son would say, WTF???

 

Exactly, if you have something that beautiful, you don't want to keep it in a box.

 

AJ, do you think I'm doing something wrong, in how I'm displaying/storing them?
Until recently, they've seemingly been just fine... for YEARS!

 

Frankly, I have no idea. I can't find any info on it online.
I only know cracks can appear on Chinese lacquer through heat or dry conditions. Direct sunlight is a nono.
But Russian lacquer probably has a different composition.

For Chinese lacquer maintenance I use a very old method: rub with rice oil, sprinkle with a little flour to soak up any residue, wipe the flour off, and buff.

 

SBSVC, how about checking with the Russian Icon museum in Clinton, MA????
Pretty sure they would have some good info, since they are supposed to be world renown!! www.museumofrussianicons.org
One would think they might know or at least be able to point you in a good direction too!

 

I used to look at a certain site for information about these but didn't save the URL and can't find it through a search. Too bad, since it was informative. Besides the pages linked above, I found a couple of other sites

http://www.tradestonegallery.com/index.php?content=boxguide

http://www.russianamericancompany.com/russian-lacquer-boxes-collectors-guide/

 

well, you showed yours CX....so, might as well show mine and get in on the thread....

9 1/2 x 7....called...Snow - Girl .
Palekh , collected in the 60's , in the USSR.
# 3302...or 82...?

There is a little ...minor bubbling on the bright red interior.....& other than a couple of flea bite dents...the condition is original.