July 17, 2017 – AT SEA TO COPENHAGEN

Monday July 17 – Today we attended and interesting Port Lecture on St. Petersburg and another on Carl Faberge and the Imperial eggs and yet a third on the lacquered wooden boxes which are made in 4 towns outside of Moscow. Three of these towns such as Palekh, use acrylic paints and the fourth – Fedoskino, is all oil. The bones, made of thin layers of wood (like paper Mache) are baked at 100 degrees for 30 days then allowed to dry for 30 days and baked again for another 30 days, so 90+ days elapse before the painting can take place. The inside of the boxes are painted red and the outside black before the miniature painting is made on the top. This, if well done can be magnified 100 times while retaining it’s full shape. Each color is applied, then lacquered, dried, buffed and then the next color allowing in some cases a 3D effect. Given all the work, these items are pricy, but works of art.
We managed to enjoy 4 games of croquet and a chess game with the giant chess pieces and a tribute to the “London Palladium” variety show with sounds and dance from the 60’s and 70’s by the Royal Cunard Singers and Dancers closed out the evening.