Buying the boxes as other items customers allover the world hope to get qualitative item and do not overpay. On Russian market of the boxes the price usually corresponds to the quality and you can overpay a lot only if you buy the box in Moscow or St. Petersburg luxury hotels and business centers. Buying the boxes in the street shops or on the markets like worldly famous Izmailovo you will pay more or less the real price for the box. It means that the main problem is not to overpay but to determine the value of the box. It is not very important for people who have an idea to buy cheap gifts but if you would like to get the real thing it is necessary to choose the box very attentively. Unfortunately nobody in the villages has the copyright on the village's names and non-professional artists can use them without any problems.
Writing this article I heard, that Fedoskino Art Factory director registered his copyright on the name of the village and organized after it roundup with the help of police at Izmailovo handcraft market. What is interesting, they caught only the person with authentic Fedoskino boxes and did not delay anybody with imitations. It shows that the reason was only to restore factory monopoly and there was no idea to do something with imitations of the style. On another hand this action is also illegitimate, because people after graduation from Fedoskino Art School get diploma with the sign "Professional Artist of FEDOSKINO lacquer miniature" and this document gives them the right to use village name. And it is necessary to say that monopoly now is illegitimate in Russia. I think, that artists will continue to work independently and their boxes again will be possible to find on the markets. This is the only one way for them to get money for their life because salaries are very small at Fedoskino Factory.
The easiest way is to find the place where people sell the boxes from art factories and artists' union workshops. These boxes have stamps and certificates registered in Russia Ministry of Standards. Usually these places are the former state shops. The best of them in Moscow is "Russkaya Lavitsa" on the Old Arbat St. Here you can look at the stamps of the factories and certificates of the main organizations (Palekh, Kholui, Mstyora, Fedoskino).
But it is more interesting to look for the boxes without trademarks, for the boxes that were made independently. Why it is so?
The first reason is to save your money. Usually the boxes from the factory (of cause it is necessary to compare the boxes of the same artist with the same picture) are more expensive than the boxes that were made independently. After financial crisis of August 1998 some of the factories and workshops did not rise their prices according to exchange rate of USD but it means that the salary of the artists also had become lower and they do not work so well as before. It means that the price for individually made box is the same or lower and the quality is better.
The second reason is to buy the box from really talented artist. As more the artist has talent as more he gets the individual orders (and money!) as less boxes he makes for organization. Very often it is difficult to find something not extraordinary but just beautiful with trademark.
The third reason is the continuation of the second. Some of the artists, usually young and very skilled, do not work for the middle organization at all. And it is impossible to find their very beautiful items with trademarks. It happen also because very often young people try to find their own way as in the life as in the art. But at the organization they are pushed to go by the narrow road of traditional style. They are searching for freedom in art also.
If you would like to get something really very beautiful and unique we recommend you to pay attention as to so-named official production of factories and workshops as to the boxes without any trademark.
How to recognize authentic and fake? How to determine the value? These are the good questions. It is very difficult to explain by words how we do it. But we'll give you some practical advises.
What does it mean "authentic"? There are two very important things: right technology and authenticity of painting.
1. On our opinion the painting is genuine when the person who wrote the village name had the diploma of this village art school or was employed as an artist by one of this village artistic organization (it happen but very rare).
2. Right technology means that the box was made of pair-mache and covered with lacquer based on linseed oil.

Why people imitate the style and use the famous village names?
Some people have such idea to sell fake box instead of authentic. Imitation is always less expensive than the real box. More or less it depends on the quality of the painting and sometimes the difference is not so big. But usually they really trust that, for example, Palekh is just the name of the style and nothing more and everybody painting the picture over the black background has the right to sign the box with its name.
It is absolutely not so. Palekh as well as Fedoskino, Mstyora or Kholui is unique and unrepeatable combination of education, technology, art and sometimes religious communities, local nature, traditions and style of life and art. They can imitate the black background but could they imitate the spirit, knowledge and mentality of these people? They say, that if an artist will leave the village to another place after two-three years he will lose his mastership and skills to paint authentic boxes. Practice shows that is not only beautiful legend.

First of all it is necessary to define is it painting or it is an application. Very often you can find on the market the boxes with the picture from the book about Russian lacquer boxes stuck to its lid. If you will look at such box through the magnifying glass you will see the grain of the printed picture and you will not find the depth of the painted picture. Also pay attention to the polished surface and ornamentation. Usually the photos of the boxes have reflection on the sides and people, making applications, have to cut the sides away and to paint ornament. The reason to make applications is to reduce the price for the box to its minimum and that is why they paint very simple ornament with bronze paint and do not polish the box. The surface usually has many roughness and bubbles. Very often the shape of the box is not right, that you can note on our sample.
But the picture on our sample was painted. This is the second kind of imitations. They are also very cheap and the quality is also very low. There are non-polished surface, bronze and simple ornament. Of cause the pictures are painted not with tempera or oil paint but with watercolours. Look at the faces and other details of the picture at the sample are ugly. Again magnifying glass will help you to determine the value.
Another way to recognize these imitations is to pay attention to the price of the box. They make them to sell much less than authentic boxes, that usually in Russia have the prices not less (usually more) than 1.5$/sq.cm for Palekh and 2 $/sq.cm for Fedoskino. Boxes from Kholui and Mstyora sometime have prices a little bit less than 1 $/sq.cm. It happen because in these two villages they make not only creations (like they name them "author's works") but many copies of simplified quality. In Palekh people prefer to create or to use some motives of famous authors but they very rare make exact copies of well-known boxes and never do simplified copies of them. In Fedoskino artists copy many boxes but also they never make simple copies with less details than original. And only in Mstyora and Kholui they produce a lot of boxes of so named "gift quality". They are not so expensive like the best ones and that is why there is no reason to make imitations of Kholui and Mstyora with the quality (and the price!) higher than the quality of our sample. If you buy not expensive Kholui or Mstyora box usually the painting is authentic but it is better to check the material of the box and kind of lacquer.
But sometimes you can find imitations of the quality and the price higher than usually. These boxes are done by the order of dealers who do not want to spend money for authentic boxes but want to have something more than ordinary. You can find a lot of them at Izmailovo market. On all of them you can find signs "Palekh" or "Fedoskino" but they were made at another places. They imitate Palekh in the city of Lipetsk and the villages of…, unfortunately, Kholui and Mstyora. Fake Fedoskino comes to the market usually from Moscow.
What is it "Lipetsk Miniature"? Lipetsk is the city) and the capital of the province) at the southern part of Russia. After the Second World War the Communist Governor of Lipetsk province fell in love with Palekh boxes and decided to organize manufacturing of the boxes in his "principality". He invited palekhians to leave with him to Lipetsk but, you remember, they can not leave their settlement to another place. At last he invited some Kholui artists to leave to Lipetsk where the Art Factory and Art School were opened according to his order. The artists were ordered to make boxes "like in Palekh" with black background and golden highlighting. But al other elements of composition they painted like in Kholui, like they were taught in Art School. From the very beginning Lipetsk boxes looked like imitations of Palekh that were done by people from Kholui. Now Lipetsk boxes are absolutely not popular and to get some money for their life artists have to imitate Palekh.
In Mstyora and Kholui copyists make fake boxes because they are ordered. Creators never do it. They do not need to make them.
How to recognize real Palekh and good imitation that was done by professional? If you will train your eyes there will be no problems. People make only copies because they are not so good in high quality work and they will not do it better than their usual work in Kholui or Mstyora style.
Find somewhere in the store authentic Palekh boxes and copies from these two villages and compare them. You will see great difference in the quality of painting (at first pay attention to the faces of the people on the boxes). You will find that Palekh boxes are much more detailed and the picture is much deeper. Remember both of them and you will not make mistake later.
Another way is to look through the books about Palekh boxes. Try to remember as more pictures of the boxes as you can. Imitators do not create and they use the same books to make copies. If you will see boxes with sign Palekh but many subjects will be familiar for you from the books do not buy them. In Palekh usually everybody tries to create.
There is also very interesting method of determination. Look attentively at the sign on the box. In Palekh the usually write only the name of the village, the year and the last name of the artist, sometimes with initials. On all fake boxes you will find also the name of the story and in Palekh usually they do not write it. Of cause if instead of full signature you will see only initials it is not authentic box.
At the Palekh factory they are ordered to write the name of the story (of cause it is more convenient for the customers) now but these boxes have stamp and certificate and now we are talking about the boxes that were made individually. May be later all of them will start to write the names of the stories but now this method works well.
The realistic style of Fedoskino is the reason to imitate it for many people with traditional artistic education. Also there are some private schools in Moscow that promise to teach "Fedoskino style in three months" (compare with five years in Fedoskino School!). These people sometimes use mother-of-pearl, gold foil and aluminum powder. But they can not reach the craftsmanship of Fedoskino masters. Their pictures are not so detailed and not so deep as authentic. Looking through the magnifying glass you will find the brush steps. Pay attention to the box and polishing. In Fedoskino all operations are more expensive than at other places and final price for papier-mache box and polishing is higher. Imitators do not buy expensive semiproducts and if you will find that the box shaped or polished not very well it is better not to buy it.
It is very important to check the material of the box and kind of lacquer. They have to use only papier-mache and linseed oil lacquer and nothing else. But very often and especially for imitations they use building cardboard (in Russian "orgalit" that means castling of organic) and synthetic lacquers. The reason to save time and money using these materials instead of right technology. The result is cracks of the box surface after one-two years.
It is much easier to determine the kind of lacquer. If the box is not very old just taste the smell of it (better inside). If you will feel the soft quiet smell of natural oil - this box was covered by right kind of lacquer. If now, if it is strong smell of synthetic - do not buy this box. Usually the right kind of lacquer shows that the painting is also authentic.
For papier-mache determination they advice to taste the weight of the box and the sound its lid. It is right but remember that you have to compare the boxes of exactly same dimensions. Usually the sound of papier-mache is deeper (cardboard sounds like plastic) and weight is lighter. But it depends on the side's thickness. Sometimes powder boxes with thin sides from Mstyora factory have ringing sound and I saw the big box made of cardboard with deep sound.
On one side all lists of this cardboard have specific grain (look at the picture) and sometimes you can find it on the back side of the box or under the picture. Turn the box under the light from one side to another and may be you will see it. Then use the sound and weight methods and after these look inside. If the box is rectangular or square and it was made of papier-mache at the corners you will see the round edges (one list of cardboard was turned around the model and the sides of the box is single piece of material). If it was made of cardboard (four pieces were joined together) there you will find the corner. And hold it in you arm for a little. They say in the villages that papier-mache is "warmer" and you will fell pleasure holding it in you hand because they put "part their soul inside". It is not only the beautiful legend. Papier-mache is more porous material and it is really warmer. Authentic boxes are treated much more carefully and you will really fell pleasure holding them. Trust your arm. Like for lacquer it is possible to say that real papier-mache means authentic painting.
I would like to recommend you to have a long talk with the seller. Ask him as more questions as you can. Ask him everything about technology, artists, their biography, location of the village, children, name of the artist's cat etc. Looking at his reaction you will understand does he knowledgeable enough or he does not know anything about the boxes. In the last case it is better to find another place for shopping.
It is interesting but there are only few places in Russia. For sure you will find them in Moscow and St.-Petersburg, sometimes in Suzdal, very rare in Yaroslavl and….never more. Kostroma, for example, lays in a hundred km from Palekh but we never met there authentic boxes.
In Moscow you can look for them in the stores on Old Arbat Street (but not on the street!) and "Russkaya Lavitsa" is the best one. Sometimes they appear in the gift stores on New Arbat and Tverskaya Streets and store "Russkie Uzory" (Russian Patterns) on Petrovka Street. The store in Historical Museum on the Red Square works with the factories of all four villages. But all of them have only official production of the factories. If you looking for privately made boxes you can go to Izmailovo market. There you will find few dealers with authentic boxes and a lot of them with imitations. The best collection has the person with wooden showcases closed with glass. Another reason to look for him is this glass. It is very dusty there and it is necessary to protect the boxes from the dust. The scratches not only destroy the beauty of lacquer surface. Scratches on the back side of the box are very dangerous for the box in wintertime. When seller on Saturday evening puts them at home water condense on the surface and through the scratches it penetrate under the lacquer between background and cardboard layers. Next day he will put it on the cold air and the frozen water can damage all layers of background and lacquer. In summertime the direct sunshine is not very good for the boxes because it burn the colours and heat the surface too much. In my opinion lacquer boxes it is better not to buy on the open air.
If you have enough time it is better to visit few places for comparison and only after this to make final decision and buy the box. The only one problem on this way is that may be the box will be sold during this time to another person. But if it is really good place for buying you can find another good one or they can make the copy of you favorite.
Now it is much easier to take the boxes out of Russia then 5-8 years ago. But any way it is better to have the check or receipt from the store. The license of Russian Culture Ministry is needed when you have antique box (the deadline now is 1953), big number of the boxes or the unique big pieces. To get this license you need to bring them copy of your passport, two pictures of your items and sometime the items also. Like all bureaucratic offices they work at not convenient hours and days for customers. Our practice shows that usually it is enough to have the check and receipt and remember that you do not need to declare boxes at the customs like the articles of art (they are gifts and if you will declare them you will need this license!). For foreigners who live in Moscow (or another place of Russia) we usually recommend to take the boxes home part by part and do not wait until the last day of staying here when they will have the big number of them. They also can take the big number or big item going home on vacations without license because somebody accompany them to airport and this person can take it back to Moscow apartment and later they will have time to get license for it.
The boxes do not like the direct sunshine and it is better to protect them at home from it as well as from the dust. They like the same climate as people make at home for themselves not very high humidity and temperature. To clean them they advice to use the gauze and also it is possible to use a little of furniture polisher but it is necessary to check can you use it for oil lacquers. If you will scratch it a little do not worry about it. Any way papier-mache adsorb lacquer from the surface and after 20-30 years it will be not so smooth and shiny and all scratches will disappear.