Early Transformation: Fashion for Tobacco & a German Voyage

In 1795 the Moscow first‑guild merchant Peter Korobov visited the German city of Braunschweig. His purpose was not a leisurely trip but commercial business. German boxes and tobacco cases (small containers for storing tobacco) were known worldwide. The items were distinguished by miniature painting sealed with lacquer, which made them durable and therefore in huge demand. There Korobov learned the production details, copied German masters, and set up his own workshop. From “chewed” paper they made tobacco cases, boxes, and bead‑boxes. The foreign craft the merchant brought back was transferred to the village of Danilkovo near Moscow, where he already had a lacquered cap‑production plant for army uniforms.

Chinese Origins: An Ancient Lacquer Tradition Arrives in Europe

Interestingly, the craft did not originate in Germany but was borrowed from China. By that time lacquer miniatures were already about 2,000 years old. The objects were brought to Europe at the beginning of the 17ᵗʰ century, and they became widely spread in the next century, when the luxury of the Baroque style sparked interest in Eastern civilization and exotic Chinese ornaments. The first samples were not painted; engravings (printed graphics) were glued onto them and then covered with lacquer.

At first pictures were glued onto the boxes for decoration. The artistic value of these items was only recognized from 1814 onward, when the boxes began to be hand‑painted. Artists chose the most demanding technique—pictorial miniature—and set a high standard, modeling themselves on the Renaissance era.

Lukutin’s Innovations: Establishing a Painting School and Expanding Production (1840s‑1860s)

The craft reached its true flourishing when the factory passed under the management of Peter Vasilyevich Lukutin, the son‑in‑law of the original owner. Lukutin introduced innovations: he trained masters in Stroganovka. Previously, to simplify production, a printed engraving was glued onto the lid and then lacquered; Lukutin decided that lids should be painted by hand. He created a school for training painters. During the peak years (the 1840s–1860s) the number of masters grew to 60 people. Freelance workers—painters—appeared. The product range expanded each year. Painted items, not only tobacco cases but also bead‑boxes and small boxes, were successful. Within a few years Lukutin increased the staff to four dozen, and the annual output reached 13 000 pieces. Their boxes conquered Europe and earned the right to stamp a gold double‑headed eagle on the lacquered items.

Distinguishing the Lukutin Brand: New Decorative Techniques and Subject Matter

The Lukutins put great effort into distinguishing themselves from other factories. They broadened the range of subjects and explored new kinds of decoration; the surfaces began to be richly embellished. Pearl‑like imitation, turtle‑shell painting, “skân” (a decorative technique), and relief painting appeared. The Lukutins paid close attention to choosing subjects. They were interested in engravings, lithographs, lubki (popular prints), and everyday scenes—all material for copying. As soon as new engravings were released, the Lukutins bought them; after a short time the motifs were transferred onto the boxes. Thus the first Russian miniatures, as we know them today, appeared.

Patronage & Social Benefits for Craftsmen in the 19ᵗʰ  Century

The Lukutins were enlightened merchants, founders of the Moscow Art Theatre (MHAT), and patrons of the arts, for which they received noble titles. Already in the 19ᵗʰ century, the Fedoskin factory provided its craftsmen with a kind of social package: free apartments, firewood, kerosene, trade credits, and training.

Exhibition Success & Recruitment of Elite Artists

Lukutin never missed an opportunity to bring his wares to exhibitions, and from 1831 onward items from his exposition repeatedly won awards. This fame allowed further development. To raise the artistic quality of the painting, Lukutin recruited graduates from icon‑painting workshops in Sergiev Posad and Moscow, as well as those who completed the painting class at the Stroganov School. On the lids of Lukutin boxes appeared scenes painted by artists such as D.A. Krylov, A.A. Shavrin, S.I. Borodkin and A.V. Tikhomirov. Although the popularity of Lukutin products grew, production costs also rose. Under the last owner, Nikolai Alexandrovich Lukutin, making boxes and other items became unprofitable. Nevertheless, Lukutin continued to support artistic workshops. After his death production barely survived for two more years, and the factory was closed in 1904.

Savva Morozov’s Rescue: Formation of the Fedoskin Labor Artel in Early 20th Century

With the help of patron Savva Morozov the craft was saved. Six years later the Russian entrepreneur Savva Morozov organized the Fedoskin Labor Artel, which continued the tradition. Painting regained popularity with renewed vigor, and the enterprise began producing more than 150 different types of products. In the same period demand for export grew dramatically—everybody wanted to acquire the phenomenal works of Russian craftsmen.

Russian hand‑painted masters chose traditional subjects: peasant life scenes, holidays, a running Russian troika (horse‑drawn carriage), tea drinking, churches, cityscapes, female portraits, and many others.

Soviet Era Challenges & Revival

Revolutionary events, the Civil War, famine and devastation reduced the Artel’s demand to a minimum. Moreover, local officials sincerely believed that decorative painting belonged to the “old‑regime” activities, and the workshop buildings could serve the Revolution if taken over. The Artel was saved by the first‑degree diploma it had won at the All‑Union Exhibition of Agricultural and Cultural‑Industrial Products in Moscow. Therefore, from 1923 onward the threat of closure receded, and the ensuing peaceful times allowed the artel to develop. Export of its items became a major support because the country desperately needed foreign currency. The Artel attracted increased attention and received assistance from art historians A.V. Bakushinsky and V.M. Vasilenko. After the Great Patriotic War the Artel obtained an experimental workshop under the direction of the Institute of Artistic Industry.

Continuation under the Fedoskin Labor Artel of Former Lukutin Masters

The painting craft continued under the “Fedoskin Labor Artel of Former Lukutin Factory Masters.” Ten masters who had once painted boxes at the Lukutin factory secured a loan provided by patron Morozov and opened their own workshop. They had to report to a strict Moscow commission that included representatives of the Moscow zemstvo and the Kustarny Museum. Their samples received praise and work began. Two years later fourteen masters were making boxes, assisted by nine apprentices. In quality, the artel’s pieces could not be outdone even by the famous Vishnyakov workshop.

Artistic Maturation in the Late 1950s: Original Miniature Works

A qualitative leap occurred in the late 1950s when a team of talented painters specializing in miniature painting gathered in the workshop and the artel itself. From that moment painting ceased to be merely a collection of conventional elements or copies of famous canvases; it became the creation of fully original works that showcased the full richness of lacquer miniature possibilities. Boxes began to feature heroes from Russian fairy tales and contemporary books. Miniatures celebrated the Soviet people’s victory and their peaceful achievements. The breakthrough was marked by the transformation of the artel into the Fedoskin Factory of Miniature Painting. The factory ran a school that taught not only the basics of Fedoskin painting but also finift (a decorative technique) and the Zhostovo craft.

Institutional Growth & International Reach

In the 1970s the masters moved into a seven‑story building, and the factory staff included three hundred painters alone. Fedoskin miniature works were exported directly to eleven countries, among them Japan, the United States, and various European and Latin American nations.

Stylistic Hallmarks, Durability & Craftsmanship

The main distinction of Russian lacquer from European lacquer is its vivid national colour. Masters transferred paintings by Russian artists and scenes of rural life onto the boxes. Yet the chief symbol of Fedoskin lacquer miniature is the Russian troika.

A seemingly fragile papier‑maché box could easily withstand boiling water. The masters gave a one‑century guarantee on their products. The secret of durability lay in a special lacquer. Before being applied, the lacquer was left to age for several years in sunlight. Work proceeded slowly; a master could spend up to six months on a single box.