Folk Art and Crafts NEW ARRIVALS

"Sailor" Baltic Amber Figure

A whimsical work of art! Genuine Baltic amber Russian sailor [моряк]. Made in Russia (USSR), circa 1970. 1¾" tall. Comes with the black marble base shown, 3x3 inches. Only one.  Amber is a fossil resin that was produced by pine trees that...

Chess Set [Vintage]

Bogorodsk Hand Carved Chess Set ( Шахматы ручной работы).  The kings are woodsmen. The queens have plaited braids. The bishops, aka officers, are bears holding rifles. Tall pines are the rooks, knights are horses, and sixteen pawns carved to...

Painted Spoons "Boretskaya", pair

Painted Spoons, Boretsk, pair (Расписные Борецкие Ложки, пара). Exquisitely hand made linden soup spoons. Painted with gouache paints and covered with a shiny varnish. Circa 1980-1990.  7½" in length, bowls are 2½" wide. 1 pair only...

Polkhov Barrel "Dewdrop"

Polkhov Barrel "Dewdrop"(Полховская Бочка "Росинка").  Polkhov barrel box by a master decorator at the factory, judging by the work quality.  From the Voznesensky factory "Polkhov-Maidan painting". Factory label in Russian indicates name of the...

Boy Fashions a Horse Kalinin Thermometer [Vintage]

A Boy Fashions a Horse (Мальчик лепит лошадку). A young man carves out a playroom horse. Exquisite folk image. When souvenirs were classy! Hand made from wood and then painted. Wall mounting. Fine condition. Temperature reads in Celsius*. USSR, made in...

Bluebird Maiden Easter Egg

Bluebird Egg Maiden (Синяя птица). Hand painted bluebird on a wood egg with detailed floral enhancements on a milky-white background. Finished with a polished clear lacquer. Signature of the artist and date of 1991 on the bottom of the egg. Made in...

St Nestor the Chronicler [Vasnetsov]

St. Nestor the Chronicler of the Kiev Caves (1050-1114) can be considered the father of the history of Russia. In about 1080, he wrote the “Account about the Life and Martyrdom of the Blessed Passion Bearers Boris and Gleb” in...

Gorodets Painted Cutting Board

Gorodets Decorative Board. Gorodets painting (Городецкая роспись) has its roots in the making and painting of spinning wheels and distaffs. It is a very old and cultured folk art and can range from complex paintings to simple genre scenes, as represented...

Playful Squirrel Bogorodsk Toy

Playful Squirrel (Затейница). Resourceful and cute squirrel uses his hammer to crack open an acorn. Push button action, marked on the bottom, circa 1986.. 3½" x 4". 1 only. 

Russian Costume Enamel on Copper Plaque

Russian Costume (Русский Костюм). An extravagant hot enamel on copper plaque with suspended bars top and bottom of a medieval Russian noblewoman. This scarce piece weighs 1½ pounds. The enamel portion is 11¼" x 5½", and the top and...

Troika Box [Vintage Sergiev Posad]

Troika (Тройка) Glove Box (Перчаточница). Made in Russia in the 1930s or 1950s, in the kustar style (кустарная промышленность) of Zagorsk/Sergiev Posad, with Abramtsevo influences. In good condition with some wear indicative of age (see photos)...

Rostov Finift Miniature Painting "Byliniy"

Byliniy (Былины) are heroic poems. These ancient texts includes such works of folklore as "Sadko", "Avdotya Ryazanochka", "Vavila and the buffoons", as well as epics about Russian heroes endowed with high moral qualities and selfless devotion - "Ilya...

Pokrov on the Nerli Enamel on Copper Plaque

Church of the Pokrov on the Nerli (Церковь Покрова на Нерли,). The Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin on the Nerl River is a potent symbol of medieval Russia, commissioned by Andrei Bogolyubsky in the 12th century. It's situated at the...

Petrozavodsk Kitchen Board [USSR]

Petrozavodsk Kitchen Board. Decorative hand painting on pine wood and finished with a clear lacquer. Early 1980's. 9½" to 4½". Near fine condition. Uncommon. 1 only, as shown. Petrozavodsk is the capital and largest city in...

Emelya on the Stove

By the command of the pike (По щучьему велению). A fine Bogorodsk carving based on a much-beloved folk tale about lazy, but lucky, Emelya, who spares the life of a magic fish after catching it from out of the fishing hole with his bare hands. "At...

White Amber Pendant

White amber is totally opaque and spans the spectrum from ivory to pure white. This pendant is from Lithuania (Baltic Sea) and was made in the 1980's. Enhancements include a small flower with two leaves and three round silver seeds (two on the flower,...

Orthodox Nun

Orthodox Nun (Православная монахиня). Orthodox monks and nuns lead identical spiritual lives, living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Orthodox monastics do not have "orders" as in the Catholic Church. This elegant nun was carved with her...