Kholuy lacquer miniature is a kind of folk painting, which is born many centuries ago. Masters of old village Kholui, inspired by the beauty of mother nature, based on ancient traditions of iconography, managed to find their own unique style and created a special style of writing.
Before the revolution, the main business of Kholui villagers was iconography. In the Soviet era, when iconography was almost forbidden, artists found a new way: they painted boxes and caskets, brooches and pendants, powder and snuff boxes, pictures.
Secrets of Kholui boxes are known only to the masters of this craft. Its creating is a long, laborious process consisting of several stages of hand work. The wood board is pressed in multilayer tubes called "navivy", which are impregnated with a warm linseed oil and dried in oven. Then the product is sanded and coated inside, outside and on the top with red and black and clear lacquer, correspondingly. Then the box falls into the hands of master possessing unique ancient secret of preparation of paints from natural pigments pounded by hand in the egg yolk. Figure is made of finest squirrel brushes; it seemed to be filled with life. To decorate the black mirrored surface boxes, was used mesmerizing glitter of precious metals and its background is usually all filled with figures or landscape. Ornament, rich finish domes of churches, sun, stars, moon, is made of specially prepared gold leaf (with the addition of cherry gum), to make the work unique. Than gold is polished by wolf tooth, and the product is covered by several layers of lacquer.
These works are of exquisite luxury, they admire the extraordinary visionary. Harmony of color is based on the contrast combination of warm and cold, bright and pastel colors. The subtlety light changes, transparent soft color, sometimes intense colors, the expression of stress contours and thin waxing shapes. Along with historical, fantastic, epic stories, masters paint the modern life, landscapes, architecture, ballet scenes. Tenderness of colors, an abundance of gold, expressive, high performance level - are features of unique style of Kholui miniature of the XVI century.