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[MANUSCRIPT FABLE] Povest o tsaritse i l’vitse [i.e. The Story of the Tsarina and Lioness]

Item #422

[1840s]. Manuscript with 39 full-page miniatures. 4to. Contemporary cardboard binding with strings. Very good condition. Minor soiling of the pages, otherwise good.

The story was created in Russia in 1690s, based on the Polish medieval novel about Otton and Olond. The story of lioness stealing one of tsarina’s children had became very popular in Russia, especially in the beginning of 19th cent. It was changed significantly upon the original plot, with the elements of folklore added.

This artisanal manuscript, probably created in the village in Central Russia is a rare and unusually example of the secular manuscript created for the everyday reading for common people. The miniatures show no background of any art education of the illuminator, but are interesting in their naivety.

Probably the most important miniature is the one of the ‘loose woman’ being chased by demons and snakes on l.39.

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