Pushkin's Fairy Tales

Selected scenes from a number of Alexander Pushkin’s fairy tales are illustrated on this box by Lerin. The style is refined, and the composition is complex and flowing, seamlessly moving from one plot to another. The lid depicts Prince Guidon showing his father Tsar Saltan the wonders of his island: the squirrel cracking golden nuts with emerald cores, the army of thirty three mighty knights, the fair princess with a moon under her braid. Tsar Saltan sees his long-lost wife and realizes that Prince Guidon is his son. The sides of the box show the old Tsar Dadon meeting the enchanting Queen of Shamakha (The Tale of the Golden Cockerel), Ruslan taking possession of the magic sword after having defeated in battle the Giant Head (Ruslan and Lyudmila), and the characters from The Introduction to Ruslan and Lyudmila: the green oak tree by the sea side, the learned cat chained to it by a gold chain, and the mermaid resting among the oak tree branches. Night and day the cat is circling around the tree. When he turns to the right, he sings a song, when he turns to the left, he tells a fairy tale.