Tea Party – is rare and genuine desktop match holder hand painted in fine technique. The marking dates this box back to 1863-1876. Comes  from a private collection on estate.

Very Good. Age wear mainly to outer lacquer (varnish) layer – the layer should be gently removed for best performance. Please study good resolution images for cosmetic condition. In person actual item may appear darker or brighter than in our pictures, strictly depending on sufficient light in your environment. Size app.: 8 cm high (app. 3,2 in) 9 cm (app. 3,54 in) wide and 9,5 cm deep (app. 3,74 in). Weight is 373 g., measure some 1 kg packed for shipment.

Fedoskino miniature is a traditional Russian lacquer miniature painting on papier-mache, named after its original center Fedoskino, an old village near Moscow widely known from the late 18th century. The contemporary Fedoskino painting preserves the typical features of Russian folk art. The use of oil paint, typically applied in many layers, is a distinctive feature of a Fedoskino miniature, as well as the use of mother-of-pearl, pure gold or silver leaf under segments of the background to create the effect of a shimmering glow or silvery sparkle. Many boxes are painted inside and outside in imitation tortoiseshell, birch bark, mahogany or tartan. The heyday of Fedoskino miniature fell on the second half of the 19th century, and the works of that time are known as 'lukutins', named after the merchants Lukutins, who owned the Fedoskino factory at that time. Petr Lukutin inherited the factory in 1824 and it remained in the families ownership until 1904. After a brief interlude in the hands of former Lukutin workers ('The Fedoskino Artel of Former Lukutin Factory Workers') the factory effectively ceased trading until after the revolution, when in 1923, Fedoskino wares were awarded a diploma for 'superb artistic skill' at the All-Union Exhibition of Agricultural, Industrial and Cultural Products; which was held in Moscow in that year. Some of the factory craftsmen had artistic education, and many of them had come from icon-painting studios.