On the lid of the box is a nocturnal landscape in which a mounted warrior gazes at the moon. The image bears the initials AB in Cyrillic for a miniature painter, most probably Aleksandr Borozdin (born 1880), who worked for Vasilii Pavlovich Gurianov, a supplier of icons to Fabergé. Bordering the landscape is a band of geometric and vegetal forms. The reverse of the box is richly patterned in motifs associated with the works of Fedor Rückert. A trapezoidal panel with blossoms in red and blue over a white ground is in the centre. Above and below are abstract organic shapes in violet, orange-brown, turquoise, and green. Four cloudberry-like blossoms with bright blue triangles appear in the corners.

 

P.P. Roudakoff, 1948, by gift; Lieutenant Colonel Paul Roudakoff, New Jersey [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, Sothey's, New York, December 15, 1983, No. 482; Sale, Christie's New York, October 19, 1989, No. 149; Sale, Christie's New York, April 19, 1990, no. 177; Jean M. Riddell, Washington, D.C., 1990, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2010, by bequest.

1880-1896

[Symbols] On inner surfaces of lid and box: kokoshnik right, delta; [Mark] In Latin: W.A. Bolin overstriking FR (in Cyrillic); [Inscription] Inside lid: To our best friend P.P. Roudakoff with affectionate regards, Mary and Frank Vastich, December 31, 1948, Berlin