My favorite lacquered box. It's an unusual shape and very ornately painted. The top is two inches across between parallel sides. I bought it from a Russian lady at a bazaar in a soccer stadium in Warsaw, Poland, Thanksgiving weekend 1993.
I have a couple of similarly painted boxes, though not nearly so ornate. I think they illustrate scenes from specific folk stories. I am sure one of mine is a version of St George and the dragon. I see that this has a prince (maybe) on his horse, carrying his lady love away in the night. I see a man behind him, maybe a king, sorcerer or wise man behind. Maybe the father? It would be interesting to see if it corresponds with any stories. It would also be interesting (to me) to see what the images on the sides depict.
@salza Thanks! @ahleena We have a bunch of these boxes. I love them, they are so beautiful. Now, I want to research the picture to see if it has a story attached! I never really thought about that before. The little pictures on the side are portraits of the characters in the top picture, as well as three other people, including one that looks a lot like a bearded blue ghost. I looked at the top picture on my computer, so it would be bigger, but I couldn't see any other faces in that painting. In this other pic, you can sort of see three of the side pictures. http://365project.org/homeschoolmom/challenges/2015-11-05
@ahleena We have a bunch of these boxes. I love them, they are so beautiful. Now, I want to research the picture to see if it has a story attached! I never really thought about that before. The little pictures on the side are portraits of the characters in the top picture, as well as three other people, including one that looks a lot like a bearded blue ghost. I looked at the top picture on my computer, so it would be bigger, but I couldn't see any other faces in that painting. In this other pic, you can sort of see three of the side pictures. http://365project.org/homeschoolmom/challenges/2015-11-05