Russian doll

The history of the creation of nesting dolls

Matryoshka is a painted wooden detachable doll with smaller dolls inside. This toy is rightfully considered the most famous and popular Russian souvenir. The history of the creation of nesting dolls is very interesting and still raises questions. There is a version according to which the Russian master created the nesting doll figurine after seeing a similar figurine brought from Japan. The Japanese doll, in which several more dolls were invested, symbolized the local gods of happiness.

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Split pupae also existed in other cultures, for example, in India and China. The true origin of the matryoshka is still a mystery. However, most likely, the Russian master created the famous toy, inspired by Slavic images. A craftsman from Podolsk near Moscow, Vasily Zvezdochkin, invented the nesting doll shape in the 1890s, claiming that he had never seen Japanese wooden toys before. The question of the origin of the famous toy requires further study.

What was the first nesting doll?

What was the very first nesting doll? The author of the sketch of the toy, which was created by Vasily Zvezdochkin, is called Sergey Malyutin, despite the fact that Vasily Zvezdochkin never mentioned Malyutin in his memoirs. Sergey Malyutin worked in the "Children's Education" artel. It was the artel of the famous philanthropist Savva Mamontov. The first matryoshka depicted a girl with a black rooster in her hands, inside there were other dolls, the smallest of which was a baby in swaddling clothes.

The name of the new toy, of course, came from the name Matryona, which was very popular at that time. In 1900, the matryoshka was sent to the World Exhibition in Paris, where she received a bronze award. After that, this toy began to be made not only in Children's Education. Craftsmen from Sergiev Posad undertook to make nesting dolls, they also improved the technology for making nesting dolls. Most often, toys were made from linden, as it is a soft wood material that does not crack when dried. Alder or birch wood was used less frequently.

Matryoshka in the modern worldAt the beginning of the 20th century, Russian wooden toys gained immense popularity, visiting foreign exhibitions of this time several more times. Matryoshka is still the first and most desired souvenir for all foreigners visiting our country. Nowadays, you can see nesting dolls of all kinds, types, sizes and shapes. The imagination of the masters is truly limitless. Now it is not only traditional girls in headscarves.

Nesting dolls can depict:

historical figures,

literary characters,

heroes of folk tales and fables.

Modern masters can also depart from the classical form of nesting dolls. In Russia, several centers for the manufacture of matryoshkas gradually appeared. Widely known:

Semyonovskaya matryoshka;

Zagorsk matryoshka;

Tver matryoshka;

Vyatka matryoshka.

Each of them has its own distinct distinctive features.

Nesting dolls differ in technique, style of painting and material of manufacture. In many cities of Russia there are museums of Russian nesting dolls, where visitors can see wonderful handmade samples with author's painting.

There are such museums

in Sergiev Posad;

In Nizhniy Novgorod;

In Noginsk;

in Voznesensky.

Creating a matryoshka is not easy at all. Manufacturing takes place in several stages. From a bar of wood to a finished product, a matryoshka doll goes a long way. To acquire strength, wood must be aged in the open air for two years! Matryoshka is not just a souvenir, it is not for nothing that the toy appeared in the artel with the name "Children's Education". This is a great example of an educational toy for children.

Created just over a century ago, the doll still inspires craftsmen and delights people around the world with its beauty.

Read also:

Folk crafts of Russia

More than a craft: Why a real icon is always a miracle