Rectangular with rounded corners, the front cloisonné enameled with a scene depicting Volga Svyatoslavich and his army after Ivan Bilibin, within a border of stylized leaves and berries, the reverse centering a panel of light blue enamel scrolls with a circular cartouche engraved with monogram 'FHW', within two stylized flowers on either side on green enamel ground, with a cabochon chrysoprase, marked on edge with ‘Khlebnikov’ in Cyrillic beneath the Imperial warrant, also with later Soviet marks
4³⁄₈ in. (11 cm.) long

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Lot Essay

The scene on the cover of the present cigarette case is based on an illustration for the famous epic poem (bylina) and depicts bogatyr Volga Svyatoslavich with his troops. The illustrations were executed in 1902 and the poem was published in St. Petersburg in 1904.

A comparable cigarette case by Khlebnikov was sold at Christie's, Geneva, 11 November 1987, lot 114.