Cigarette box with Miniature: Blind Man's Bluff

The miniature, in matte enamel, reproduces Blind Man's Bluff, a popular painting by Konstantin Makovskii (1839-1915). In a teremok interior, a child and an older boy waving a peacock feather encourage a blindfolded young lady dressed in white while her companions seek to elude her. Incidental details include a mother seated with her child and companion, and a child stealing fruit from the table. The vaulted chamber is replete with scrolls of vine painted on the ceiling and with such furnishings as a large white tile stove, an icon, and a commode. The Kremlin Terem, restored after the designs of Fyodor Solntsev (1801-1892) in 1837, served as the prototype for the interior.

This box exemplifies Fedor Rückert's late style of painted filigree work in which ample use is made of decorative, filigree wire spirals and muted colors. In this work, they are predominantly dark blue, black, brown, and white.