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History of Matryoshka Nesting Dolls
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If you have ever owned a set of Russian nesting dolls, you will quickly understand why people worldwide continue to be enchanted by this unique folk art. Matryoshka nesting dolls are the most popular Russian national souvenir, and they are beloved worldwide. These delightful wooden toys consist of a brightly painted wooden figure that can be pulled apart to reveal another figure with other smaller dolls fitting within one another.
Types of Nesting Dolls
Traditional sets contain 5 to 30 individual dolls, but custom sets can contain as many as 50 individual figures! Many different styles of nesting dolls exist that are either painted by hand using bright tempura paints or burned with a hot needle. Artists sculpt the dolls from soft birch, linden, alder or aspen wood that has been dried for at least 2 years to ensure the toys will last for many years. Nesting dolls can take anywhere from several days to several months to finish, and they can be as small as 1” high. In additional to traditional mother dolls, you will find all kinds of matryoshka nesting dolls, including animals, political figures, sports themes, Disney characters, characters of Russian fairy tales, holiday dolls depicting Father Frost and flower dolls made in Sergiev Posad, the old center for Russian crafts.
Origin of the Name
These nesting dolls are known by many different names such as stacking dolls, matrioshka, matryushka or babushka dolls which is the Russian word for grandmother. However, the traditional name is matryoshka. Matryona and Matriosha were very common names for female Russian peasants, and mater is the Latin root for the word mother. The name became associated with the Russian mother of a large peasant family. This is why traditional nesting dolls that portray a brightly painted, portly Russian peasant mother are known as matryoshka dolls.
The First Matryoshka Nesting Dolls
Sava Mamontov created the first nesting dolls in 1890 at his Abramtsevo estate in Moscow. He was one of the initial artisans dedicated to creating new Russian styles. During the 19th century, the USSR enjoyed significant cultural and economic development. Therefore, many of the workshops in Mamontov were kept busy with talented Russian artists and folk craftsmen working side by side. They shared their knowledge and talent to create unique art forms such as these charming nesting dolls.
A Very Shaky Past
With the arrival of socialism in the USSR, factories, including ones producing crafts, were closely monitored. Creating any handcrafts outside of these factories was strictly forbidden and militia monitored all road and railway stations to ensure no crafts were being sold in other parts of the country. They also shut down electricity to prevent the use of home lathes for turning the wooden dolls. Unfortunately, factory workers producing the nesting dolls couldn't survive on the low labor rates. Their creativity and artistic skill was also suppressed because goods had to be simple enough for mass production. The factories in Semionovo exported many nesting dolls. However, they all looked very similar and lacked the fine detail and creativity of the hand made dolls. Fortunately, when the old economic system of Russia collapsed in the beginning of the 1990s, artisans were once again free to create unique matryoshka nesting dolls and other Russian crafts.
The tradition of creating popular matryoshka nesting dolls is alive and well; these
charming wooden toys continue to delight children and adults alike. Russian astronauts even gave a pair of Russian dolls to international crew members during their 1982 space flight. Many Russians give them as gifts for special occasions and they often become treasured family heirlooms passed on from generation to generation. Art lovers also enjoy collecting these prized Russian nesting dolls, especially the very rare wooden toys.
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