This gorgeous book provides a brief introduction to the art of Russian lacquer miniature painting, most frequently seen on the beautiful little boxes sometimes sold at museum stores here in the United States. Lucy Maxym, herself an importer of these boxes, gives a very general outline of their creation, from their papier-mâché base, to the exquisitely detailed paintings that adorn their exterior panels.

The four main villages which produce these miniatures - Fedoskino, Palekh, Kholui, and Mstera - are all discussed, as are the distinctive methods and characteristics of each village's style. These range from the tempera paints of the Palekh style, with its bright colors and elongated figures; to the oil paints and underlayer of gold leaf used in the Fedoskino style, unique in its luminous quality, and in the absence of decorative borders. But whatever differences in approach and effect may exist, Maxym notes that all four schools are heavily indebted to the Russian folk tradition, as it concerns choosing subject material for the paintings themselves.

Russian Lacquer, Legends and Fairy Tales reproduces nineteen stories that have frequently been used by lacquer painters in their work. Each selection is illustrated with panels from actual lacquer boxes, depicting scenes from the tale in question. Here the reader will encounter a number of old favorites, from fairy tales such as Konok Garbunok/The Humpbacked Pony and Vasilisa the Beautiful, to poem fragments such as General Toptiggin and The Old Man and the Hares.

Many famous legends, which have gone on to inspire operas and ballets, are also included. Among them are: The Tale of the Firebird, Tsarevich Ivan and the Gray Wolf (Stravinsky's ballet); Snegurochka/The Snow Maiden and Sadko (operas by Rimsky-Korsakov); and Prince Igor (an opera begun by Borodin, and completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov). The epic poems of Alexandr Pushkin, themselves adaptations of earlier tales, are also well represented, from The Tale of Tsar Saltan and Rusalka to The Golden Cockerel and Ruslan and Ludmila.

Othere selections include: The Frog Princess, The Fisherman and the Magic Fish, Morozko/Father Frost and the Maiden, The Merchant Peddlers, Alyonushka, and two contemporary tales based on Bashkir folklore: The Girl With the Golden Hair and The Stone Flower.

While there is no doubt that this book is a visual treat, I couldn't help feeling that the tales themselves seemed a little wooden, particularly some of the Pushkin selections. Perhaps they suffered somewhat, in their transition from poetry to prose, or perhaps the translator was inexperienced, but they often read as straight plot summaries. I realize, of course, that the focus here is on the artwork, but an improvement in narrative style would still have been most welcome. ( )