This is a beautiful and unique Russian SHELL PAPER and papier mache trinket/jewellery box portraying Mother troll and her sons wait for a sad princess to choose which son she will marry, hand painted.
"Look at them," troll mother said. "Look at my sons! You won't find more beautiful trolls on this side of the moon." 1915

The box measures 14.3 cm (5 5/8 inches) long, by 14.3 cm (5 5/8 inches) wide, 2.6 cm deep.

Illustration of Walter Stenström's The boy and the trolls or The Adventure in childrens' anthology Among pixies and trolls, a collection of childrens' stories, 1915.

The box is HAND PAINTED, signed with the artists name S.Silantyeva  (in Russian letters)  

John Albert Bauer (1882 – 1918)  was a Swedish painter and illustrator, best known for his illustrations of the early editions (between 1907 – 1915) of an anthology of Swedish folklore, called Among Gnomes and Trolls (Bland tomtar och troll )

Besides of his artistic talent, probably he owes part of his success to his deep connection with this subject. Still as a child, Bauer was enchanted by the local stories about strange creatures living in the dense forests. Fascinated by the Swedish nature, he constantly drew an inspiration from there to convey the eerie mood of the Fairy tales – old stately trees, light sneaking through the intertwined branches, huge tufts of mosses, mushrooms, and creepy roots. As per the depiction of the heroes, especially those of the princes and princesses and their clothing, he was mostly influenced by the Renaissance.

Bauer was born and raised in Jönköping but at the age of 16 he moved to Stockholm. Unfortunately his life did not last long. A tragedy occurred on the 20th of November 1918, when the ship he had embarked along with his family sank in Lake Vättern due to an overload cargo.

Though he died young, he left an impressive heritage of illustrations that are considered among the classics in Fairy tales.

The world’s largest collection of his artwork is exhibited in a museum in his native town. The Jönköpings läns museum owns over 1,000 of paintings, drawings and sketches by Bauer. There are also three other collections in Sweden – at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, at the Gothenburg Museum of Art and at the Malmö konstmuseum, as well one museum in Ebenhausen, Germany, dedicated especially to his life and works.

This is a fabulous oil painted picture and the photo doesn't do it justice. I also have more Boxes from this artist in my shop.

The boxes most widely sought after come from one of four small Russian villages - Palekh, Fedoskino, Kholui, and Mstera. Special schools have been established at these places where artists train for four years before they become members of each village's art community. Each village also has its unique style.

Refund policy:You will be 100% delighted or return within 7 days (longer if abroad) for refund excepting P&P. We take feedback very seriously, please remember if you are not happy with our service, then please contact us.

FREE UK POSTAGE!!! (We take IBAN payments as well as Paypal outside UK) We speak French, English, German and Russian.

Please leave feedback once you have received the item so that I know it has arrived safely.I will leave feedback in return.

Smoke & Pet Free Item

Good Luck and Happy Bidding!