A matryoshka doll or matryoshka (; Russian: матрёшка), also known as a Russian stacking doll, nesting doll, or simply a Russian doll, is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. Matryoshka is a diminutive form of Matryosha (Матрёша), in turn an affectionate form of the Russian female first name Matryona (Матрёна). A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure, which separates at the middle, top from bottom, to reveal a smaller figure of the same sort inside, which has, in turn, another figure inside of it, and so on. The first Russian nested doll set was made during the 1890s by woodturning craftsman and wood carver Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo. The dolls continue to be mass-produced to this day. Traditionally, the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a Russian sarafan dress. The figures inside may be of any gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The dolls often follow a theme; these themes vary from traditional forms, such as abstract Russian peasant beauties, to fairy tale characters as well as historical or political figures. In some countries, matryoshka dolls are often referred to as babushka dolls, though they are not known by this name in Russian; babushka (бабушка) means 'grandmother; old woman'.
History
The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890s at the Children's Education Workshop by Vasily Zvyozdochkin and designed by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter in the Abramtsevo estate of Savva Mamontov, a Russian industrialist and patron of arts. Mamontov's brother, Anatoly Ivanovich Mamontov (1839–1905), created the Children's Education Workshop to make and sell children's toys. The doll set was painted by Malyutin. Malyutin's doll set consisted of eight dolls—the outermost was a mother in a traditional dress holding a red-combed rooster. The inner dolls were her children, girls and a boy, and the innermost a baby. The Children's Education Workshop was closed in the late 1890s, but the tradition of the matryoshka simply relocated to Sergiyev Posad, the Russian city known as a toy-making center since the fourteenth century. The inspiration for matryoshka dolls is not clear. There have been speculations that Matryoshka dolls may have been inspired by a nesting doll imported from Japan, however there are serious doubts. The Children's Education workshop where Zvyozdochkin was a lathe operator received a five-piece, cylinder-shaped nesting doll featuring Fukuruma (Fukurokuju) in the late 1890s, which is now part of the collection at the Sergiev Posad Museum of Toys. Other East Asian dolls share similarities with matryoshka dolls such as the Kokeshi dolls, originating in Northern Honshū, the main island of Japan, although they cannot be placed one inside another, and the round hollow daruma doll depicting a Buddhist monk. Another possible source of inspiration is the nesting Easter eggs produced on a lathe by Russian woodworkers during the late 19th Century. Savva Mamontov's wife presented a set of matryoshka dolls at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, and the toy earned a bronze medal. Soon after, matryoshka dolls were being made in several places in Russia and shipped around the world.
Manufacture
Centers of production The first matryoshka dolls were produced in the Children's Education (Detskoye vospitanie) workshop in Moscow. After it closed in 1904, production was transferred to the city of Sergiev Posad (Сергиев Посад), known as Sergiev (Сергиев) from 1919 to 1930 and Zagorsk from 1930 to 1991. Matryoshka factories were later established in other cities and villages:
the village of Polkhovsky Maidan (Полховский-Майдан), which is the primary producer of matryoshka blanks, and its neighboring villages Krutets (Крутец) and Gorodets (Городец) the city of Semenov, (Семёнов) the city of Kirov (Киров), known as Vyatka (Вя́тка) (from 1780 to 1934 and renamed Kirov in 1934 although many of its institutions reverted to the name Vyatka (Viatka) in 1991 the city of Nolinsk (Нолинск) the city of Yoshkar-Ola (Йошкар-Ола) in the Republic of Mari-El Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the closure of many matryoshka factories, and the loosening of restrictions, independent artists began to produce matryoshka dolls in homes and art studios.
Method Ordinarily, matryoshka dolls are crafted from linden wood. There is a popular misconception that they are carved from one piece of wood. Rather, they are produced using a lathe equipped with a balance bar, four heavy 2 foot (0.61 m) long distinct types of chisels (hook, knife, pipe, and spoon), and a set of handmade wooden calipers particular to a size of the doll. The tools are hand-forged by a blacksmith, traditionally from car axles or other salvage. A wood carver uniquely crafts each set of wooden calipers. Multiple pieces of wood are meticulously carved into the nesting set.
Shape, size, and pieces per set The standard shape approximates a human silhouette with a flared base on the largest doll for stability. Other shapes include potbelly, cone, bell, egg, bottle, sphere, and cylinder. The size and number of pieces vary widely. The industry standard from the Soviet period, which accounts for approximately 50% of all matryoshka produced, is six inches tall and consists of 5 dolls except for matryoshka dolls manufactured in Semenov, whose standard is five inches tall and consisting of 6 pieces. Other common sets are the 3-piece, the 7-piece, and the 10-piece.
Common characteristics Matryoshka dolls painted in the traditional style share common elements. They depict female figures wearing a peasant dress (sarafan) and scarf or shawl usually with an apron and flowers. Each successively smaller doll is identical or nearly so. Distinctive regional styles developed in different areas of matryoshka manufacturing.
Themes in dolls
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
