A trip to Gozo this summer would not be complete without a visit to the Il-Ħaġar Museum in Victoria, where the latest exhibition showcases over 50 Russian lacquer boxes and artefacts, all depicting St George.

The museum, also known as Heart of Gozo, is owned and run by Fondazzjoni Belt Victoria. The foundation was set up with the aim of promoting the Gozitan capital’s cultural identity and, in particular, setting up a museum and cultural centre in collaboration with St George’s Basilica.

Foundation chairman Antoine Vassallo said the idea was to have showcase space for artefacts that were previously used inside the basilica for its annual feast, which falls on the third Sunday of July.

Making matters all the more special is the fact that these items are privately owned and would, therefore, usually be unavailable for public viewing. A generous benefactor, who prefers to remain anonymous, loans these pieces to the museum for its special temporary exhibition every year.

The artefacts have nearly all been obtained from Russia, either through auctions or through the philanthropist’s frequent travels there in pursuit of such items, which are at times directly commissioned.

In the past, the museum has hosted exhibitions of other goods depicting St George, including antique hand-painted icons and a unique collection of gilded, hand-painted, wooden icon eggs.

Plans for an exhibition of a very rare collection of antique wooden statues next year is already in motion. This is all possible thanks to the same benefactor.

The art of lacquer boxes originated in the Far East at the turn of the 19th century. Following the Russian revolution of the early 1900s, several churches and monasteries were destroyed. As a result, the many skilled icon writers, as they are known, became redundant and resorted to producing lacquer boxes depicting Russian folklore for a grim living.

The Russian lacquer boxes are madefrom papier-mâché, hand-painted and varnished with a clear liquid obtained from a tree-dwelling insect farmed for this purpose in the warm Indo-Asian regions

The main Russian region producing these boxes is situated near Moscow by the Ucha River, with the principal villages involved being Fedoskino, Mystera, Kholui and Palekh. The lacquer artists of Mystera, Kholui and Palekh paint using egg-based tempera overlaid with intricate, gold-leaf highlighting. Those of Fedoskino, on the other hand, use oil paints rather than egg tempera, with the style being largely realistic in composition and detail.

The boxes were originally intended to hold tea, salt or tobacco. Nowadays, however, they are purchased solely for collection purposes, although local inhabitants use similar ones of a cheaper quality as jewellery boxes.

“The Russian lacquer boxes are made from papier-mâché, hand-painted and varnished with a clear liquid obtained from a tree-dwelling insect farmed for this purpose in the warm Indo-Asian regions,” Mr Vassallo said.

“The process can take up to six weeks, with the best way to appreciate them being through a magnifying glass, so you can see the delicate and tiny brushwork.”

At times, depending on the size of the object, the artists themselves could have needed a magnifying glass during the decorative process, together with very fine brushes made out of a squirrel’s tail.

Though the items on show can be considered to have a single subject in the form of St George, they, in fact, offer a wide range of styles and are, as a result, very representative of this art form.

“It is worth noting that these boxes were almost all commissioned and they are, therefore, unique artefacts,” Mr Vassallo said.

“The fact that the genuine process involves long hours and rich, raw materials also means that the financial worth of the exhibits is substantially higher than the more common tourist substitutes.”

The Russian lacquer boxes and artefacts exhibition runs at the Il-Ħaġar Museum in Victoria until the end of September.

Visitors can access the museum, which is to the left of the basilica in St George’s Square, Monday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm, and entrance is free of charge.

The museum hosts other exhibitions throughout the year, such as the one held over Christmas, which featured pre-World War II terracotta and papier-mâché crib figures made by renowned Cottonera artisan Ġużeppi Giusti (1906-1993).

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