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Originally Posted by KathyB
We toured Russia when it was the Soviet Union. I purchased some hand painted enamel boxes, trimmed with 24k gold. Do they still sell them? They are really beautiful.
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Hello Cathy, Lacquered boxes are popular tourist gifts but the high quality type you are referring to are done by artists in St Petersburg and in the Golden Triangle north of Moscow. The locally created boxes are true works of art and have prices to match. If you return, you will love stopping by Ananov Galleries on Nevsky pr where they feature objects of art such as the Fabrage company was known for. On Mala Morskaya close to Nevsky prospekt and the Hermitage is the new beautiful Fabrage studios and gallery. Even though they are selling these items, both are like museums and they treat "lookers" as if they were buyers. Very elegant.
If you are looking for more common paper or wooden boxes( but still beautiful) most tourist shops have them. There are different grades of tourist shops however and those along Nevsky pr are pretty upscale with finer examples. The best deals however are available at the open air market right across the street from the Church on Spilled Blood. The vendors there expect haggling and they even bid against other vendors since they are just a feet apart. The boxes there are about $12 for one 4x 10 in and larger boxes reach up to $40, still a good deal. The collector type which are not found in those markets run from $200-3,000 and gain in value everyday. |