When I was little I have been told the fairy tales about "the malachite casket" it is one of the Russian story books and it was my favorite. The thought about that came back to me when I saw your painting, because like in that story there was a Kingdom far in remote area that was reach of malachite, that rare green stone. It was only a queen who lived in and ruled the Kingdom, time to time she invited a young men to come and work in her mines to learn the masterwork with malachite, the longer they stayed there they forgot their families and with the time she turned them one after another in malachite rocks too, that is why she had such reach Kingdom and could trade with it. So far I remember that was a story. I think I have to read it again. Thank you that you brought my childhood memories back.