They are small and colorful, detailed and exotic.
What’s more, these lacquered boxes made of papier-mache tell stories and fairy tales, if you know how to read them and have a background in Russian folklore and literature.
“Russian Lacquer Boxes: A Narrative Tradition from the Frederick Seibold Collection” will go on view Friday at the University of Wisconsin’s Chazen Museum of Art, 800 University Ave. The exhibit will run in the Mayer Gallery through Jan. 14.