Malachite the colour green (wadj) was associated with death and the power of resurrection as well as new life and fertility. Ancient Egyptians believed that the afterlife contained an eternal paradise which resembled their lives but with no pain or suffering, and referred to this place as the ‘Field of Malachite’. Malachite was used as a mineral pigment in green paints from antiquity until about 1800. The pigment is moderately lightfast, very sensitive to acids, and varying in color. This natural form of green pigment has been replaced by its synthetic form, verditer, among other synthetic greens. Malachite is also used
The Malachite Box (18 January 1939), "Izvestia" (4 April), "Pravda" and "Industria Sotsialisma" (July). However the critics disagreed on the question of authorship. Some considered "The Malachite Box" pure folklore, others thought of it was a literary work penned by Bazhov. The author himself tried to avoid the issue, joking that "questions such as these should be left to scholars". At present Bazhov's tales are generally accepted as his own literary work based on the Urals folklore. The editor of "Izvestia" called "The Malachite Box" "a valuable contribution to the Soviet fiction" and noted that "the vividness of expression and poetic richness turn