Need help with Russian Cyrillic artist's name

[mrwurley]

I need some help with identifying this Russian artist's name on a lacquer box

[maxine*j]

It's just too fuzzy for my tired old eyes to make out, but this may help others:

[argon38]

It would help if we could get to see the rest of the box (or at least, at a minimum, any other writing).

[mrwurley]

Unfortunately, it's the seller's pics, and they aren't very good. Here's a couple pics, one with the title of the work ("Winter Tunes?" and the other the entire lid.

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@argon38 wrote:

It would help if we could get to see the rest of the box (or at least, at a minimum, any other writing).

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[mrwurley]

The box is still on the way to me. Once it arrives, I'll take better photos and post them. I can't even make out the village from the seller's pics - it's there, but very fuzzy, almost hidden beneath the snow to the right of center.

[argon38]

I see from the title of your photos that your own reading of the name is "Kiroyan." I must admit I find it difficult to read the name in any other way, but Kiroyan doesn't appear to be Russian. I've scrolled through all the artist names on the Sunbirds site (which is a great resource), but none of them seem like possibilities either:

https://www.sunbirds.com/artists/

So I'm at a loss. We occasionally get a native Russian speaker stopping by on the boards, who may be able to help.

[mrwurley]

Yeah, V. Kiroyan was the best that I could come up with. I also use the Sunbirds site - it IS a great resource. Also checked "Palekh Artists". Couldn't find anything really close...Kiryanov was a possibility, but I can't imagine anyone misspelling their own name! It will be interesting to see what the village name is (if that's what I'm seeing in the lower right center.

Anyway, thanks for trying. I will post better pics when it arrives - it is due Monday...

[moms**art**window**]

the title i get 

Russian: ЗиммиЕ НАпЕВы ІІ to english: Winter season II

[argon38]

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@moms**art**window** wrote:

the title i get 

Russian: ЗиммиЕ НАпЕВы ІІ to english: Winter season II

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It's just ЗИМНИЕ НАПЕВЫ: the lines that look like "II" are only closing quotation marks. From what I can find, the literal meaning is "Winter Tunes," as the OP says. Perhaps "Winter Melodies" sounds better in English.

[maxine*j]

I see the first word as 3ИМНИЕ, which (on-line translator) translates as winter.

I see the second as НАПЕВЫ, which (on-line translator) translates as tune, strain, melody, air.

What you use as the Roman numeral II, I see as " (closing quote marks, with the opening quote marks being in the lower position).

For whatever that's worth.

[maxine*j]

Cross-post.  Late to the party.  Again. 

[argon38]

I wonder if напев might also mean "theme" or "motif," which would make more sense in this context than tunes or melodies. I see that мотив is given as one synonym:

https://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/dic_synonims/86221/%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B2

[maxine*j]

Do you mean like "leitmotif"?   Couke be,

[maxine*j]

Couke = Could

Sigh.

[argon38]

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@maxine*j wrote:

Do you mean like "leitmotif"?   Couke be,

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Yes, exactly. But it's just a thought and I'm too tired to investigate it further tonight.