The collection of caskets has more than 250 objects of various shapes, styles and materials.
Caskets of papier-mache with lacquer paintings form a separate group of about 30 units. The art of lacquer painting originated in China and then spread to Korea, Japan, countries of Indochina, India and Persia. In Europe workshops for the production of articles painted in the Chinese style appeared in the XVII century. In Russia the production technology of similar products was developed in the late XVIII century.
The leading position in Russia was undoubtedly occupied by the factory of merchants Lukutins near Moscow. They managed not only to organize the production, but made it deeply traditional.
The factory founded in the late XVIII century by merchant P.I.Korobov in the suburban village of Danilkovo (adjacent to Fedoskino and later merged with it) released lacquered visors for headgear of the Russian army. This factory began to produce caskets. In 1818 the factory passed to Korobov’s daughter, and in 1824 to his son-in-law P.V.Lukutin.
A snuff box with genre scene in the Chinese style comes from the early lacquerware of the Lukutin factory. Oriental theme was often used in lacquerpaints of 1830-1840's. Peter Lukutin changed the subject of lacquer miniatures focusing on the Russian theme which became popular in the second half of the XIX century.
In miniature painting of Lukutin’s artists a series of images of traders, haymakers, peddlers and other typical representatives of the Russian people have appeared. The popularity of the products of the Lukutin factory was in the XIX century so great that all the papier-mache lacquerware made in workshops near Moscow became known as Lukutin’s.
After the closure of the factory in 1904 hard times began for lacquerware art. In 1910 with the support of Fund of Sergey Timofeyevich Morozov the "Fedoskino labour artel" was established for former masters of Lukutin’s factory.
The work of this artel in 1940-1950 has been focused mainly on copying of works of V.M.Vasnetsov, V.G.Perov, V.I.Surikov and other artists. Most talanted artists have created their own compositions.
A casket with the views of Leningrad holds a special place in the collection. It is the gift of a group of artists of the Fedoskino cooperative to the 250 anniversary of the city.
One of the latest arrivals in this section of the collection was the box by artist A. Petrov with a miniature view of the Point of the Vasilevsky island inspired by the engravings of XVII-XIX centuries.
