Product Description
Blacksmith. Svarog (Сварог) is considered the god of fire and blacksmithing. His children are Svarozhits and Dazhbog (Helios). He is the equivalent of Hephaestus (Vulcan). He is mentioned, though only once, in the Slavic translation of the Chronicle of John Malalas, which was placed in the Primary Chronicle under year 1114. Another interpretation of this enigmatic person is that he is the magician and hero Volkh Vseslavyevich from Russian bylinas, and is equivalent to the ancient blacksmiths who, in Russian folklore, make weapons for heroes. Secondarily, he welds the hair of men and women symbolically uniting them into marriage, which include, for example, the blind father of the hero Svyatogor, who appears in the myths of the creation of the world. All this symbolism on a tiny box!
A fine lacquer box by Константин Владимирович Бархаткин (Konstantin Vladimirovich Barkhatkin), who was born in 1961 in the small village of Blagoveshchenʹye in the Lukhsky district, Ivanovo region (Благовещенье Лухского района Ивановской обл.) From 1977 to 1984, he studied at the Palekh Art School and subsequently was employed in the Palekh art-production workshops. He died in 2000 and was buried in Palekh.
Papier-mache, egg tempera paints, lacquer. Decorative freehand gold scroll border. 1990, signed by the artist. Approximately 2½" x 1¾". 1 only, as shown.
Learn more about Palekh here.