Zhostovo painting

Tray painting appeared in the early 19th century in the former Troitskaya volost, in the villages of Zhostovo, Ostashkovo, Troitskoye and their neighbours, where workshops making painted lacquered articles of tinplate and papier-mâché grew up. Its roots lie in the Tagil tray painting of the Urals and in Fedoskino lacquer miniatures.

The painting is done in oils in several layers, beginning with the “zamalyovok”, a first layer that lays in the silhouette of the bouquet. The flowers and leaves are then worked up, highlights are added, and a fine ornament is painted along the rim. The work uses varnish, metal powder, gold leaf and mother-of-pearl.

The main motif is a bouquet of garden and wild flowers, sometimes with fruit. Over time the tray turned from an everyday object into a decorative panel in its own right.

In 1928 the local artels merged into the Metallopodnos artel, and in 1960 the Zhostovo artel was reorganised as the Zhostovo Factory of Decorative Painting.