What is a Palekh box?
Palekh Lacquer Boxes Painted with bright colors and underlayment of gold and silver distinguished these artists, representing many of the iconic styles of earlier paintings. Our journey took us to the village of PALEKH, which is probably the most recognizable name in Russian Lacquer Boxes.
What are Russian lacquer boxes used for?
Russian lacquer boxes are among the most beautiful and distinctive of that country’s art achievements in the 20th century. The boxes feature intricately hand-drawn miniature paintings based on a variety of themes, including fairy tales, poems, country life, troikas, landscapes, battle scenes, and old art masterpieces.
What is Palekh painting?
Palekh miniature (Russian: Палехская миниатюра) is a Russian folk handicraft of a miniature painting, which is done with tempera paints on varnished articles made of papier-mâché (including the creation of small boxes, cigarette cases, and powder cases).
What are Russian boxes called?
Russian Lacquer Boxes are made from an art form known as Papier-Mache, a type of cardboard that is made from layers of glued paper boiled in linseed oil and then carefully dried and primed. Please visit our Fedoskino and Palekh pages to see our complete collection of beautiful Russian Lacquer Boxes.
What are Russian lacquer boxes called?
Lacquer Boxes Fedoskino Palekh Mstera Kholui.
Where are Russian lacquer boxes made?
Fedoskino
Historically, workshops in the villages of Fedoskino, Palekh, Kholui, and Mstera have been the primary producers of Russian lacquer boxes. Each village is known for its distinctly recognizable style, although thematic considerations greatly vary.
How do you clean a lacquered box?
To remove dust, use a soft brush such as a hake brush. It is safe to use a very slightly damp, soft cloth to further clean lacquer. Never immerse in water. Also, do not use commercial products such as Pledge or Endust, which may permanently ruin the lacquer finish.
How do you identify Russian lacquer boxes?
The box should not have seams that show. Look for a grid pattern on the bottom or sides of the box that indicates a machine pressed argalite box. Examine the painting with a magnifying glass to identify “cutouts,” and the many tiny “dots” that make up a photo decoupage. Look for any cracks in the lacquer.
Does lacquer crack?
A lacquer finish is more brittle and prone to cracks than varnish or polyurethane, but the good news is that the cracks are repairable. Unlike varnish or polyurethane, lacquer doesn’t cure after it hardens, which means that you can soften it with fresh lacquer. A single re-coat may be enough to heal some cracking.
Can lacquer be restored?
Lacquer can be a very forgiving finish material, and if you understand its characteristics, repairing damage to a lacquered surface can be easy. Lacquer is basically cellulose dissolved in a solvent. A lacquer surface coating hardens when the solvent evaporates, and applying more solvent will soften it again.
How can you tell if lacquer is real?
Open the box and smell the inside—if it has the rich almost “antique” smell of linseed, it is real. This is a true test, and you should learn to identify this smell. (You will always know a true lacquer-box collector or other expert, because they are always smelling boxes!)
Can you repair cracked lacquer?
What causes lacquer to crack?
Lacquer cracks are uncommon findings in the posterior pole of highly myopic eyes with a prevalence ranging from 4.3% to 9.2%. They appear to be caused by stretching of the coats of the eyeball with increasing axial myopia.
How do you clean old lacquer boxes?
Spray a small amount of solvent-based furniture cleaner on a dry rag and wipe the lacquer gently, starting with a small section. Wipe this away immediately with a damp cloth and then dry the area with a dry cloth. Repeat this process, working in manageable sections, until the lacquer is clean.
Does vinegar dissolve lacquer?
It is an ideal solvent and stubborn stain cleaner due to its acidic content. Even the toughest of substances, such as varnish, can be tackled with the power of vinegar. A blogger used a mixture of warm water and white vinegar to remove varnish from his floors.
How do you polish a lacquer box?
Restore the appearance of lacquer pieces that have been damaged by exposure to light by polishing them with carnauba wax. Apply the wax with a soft cloth and polish it lightly with another clean cloth or a lambswool buffer. Use wax only to restore damaged pieces; avoid using it on pieces in good condition.
Can I spray new lacquer over old lacquer?
Re: Spraying new lacquer over old I usually scuff sand and clean the surface and just before spraying lacquer, spray a light but wet coat of thinner on the old lacquer, then give it a few minutes to evaporate and soak in before the new wet lacquer goes on.