Nesting Dolls History
One mention of the word “matryoshka” and most people would automatically think “Russia”. It’s no surprise since for more than a hundred years now, Russia has been populating the rest of the world with their very own matryoshka nesting dolls. These dolls have been a symbol of the traditional Russian life, the importance of a mother in the family, and a great deal of respect given to her by a family with many children and their extended members under one roof.
Despite the fact that nesting dolls gained worldwide exposure and popularity from Russia, there is physical proof that the idea of the nesting of dolls inside one another has existed since the beginning of the first millennium—that’s nearly 900 years before the first matryoshka dolls were made.
Matryoshka appeared in 1892. Its prototype was the chiseled figurine of the Buddhist saint Fukurum, which was brought from the island of Honshu to the Abramtsevo estate near Moscow. The figurine depicted a sage with his head outstretched from long meditation, it turned out to be detachable, and a smaller figurine was hidden inside, which also consisted of two halves. There were five such pupae in total.
In the image of this toy, turner Vasily Zvezdochkin carved figures, and artist Sergei Malyutin painted them. He depicted on figures a girl in a sundress and a scarf with a black rooster in her hands. The toy consisted of eight figures. A boy followed the girl, then a girl again, etc. All of them were somehow different from each other, and the last, the eighth, depicted a baby wrapped in diapers. A common name at that time was the name Matryona – and this is how everyone’s beloved Matryoshka appeared!
Polkov-Maidan Dolls
Presented Russian dolls are commonly called “Maidan Dolls”.
The name has been taken from the make place, a vilage of Polkov-Maidan.
The main element of the Maidan endemic doll is a multi-petal rosehip flower, surrounded by several half-opened buds.
Painting a doll begins with drawing the contour with ink, then the product is primed with durable water-based potato starch coating, after painting, each matryoshka is covered with transparent varnish of the same background two or three times.
Nesting Dolls from Semyonov
These dolls are very bright, its primary colours are yellow and red. It’s clothes are the clothes of a rural woman, with a predominance of floral motifs. The kerchiefs of these nesting dolls are most often painted with polka dots or similar pattern. The first cooperative association in Semyonov, making these rural patterns appeared in 1929.
Although the city of Semyonov is more famous for its Khokhloma painting, making matryoshka dolls became an additional craft for the Semyonov’s craftsmen. Interesting fact is that, there is only one factory in whole Russia producing nesting dolls, and it’s located in Semyonov, which makes handmade excellent wooden dolls at affordable prices. The factory employes 700 people and it is euqipped with various heavy machinery including sanders, drills, lathes and routers. Men focus on working on machines and women concentrate on the doll painting, creating simple and vintage, but stunning patterns.
WOOD BURNING (PYROGRAPHY)
Pyrography (writing with fire) is a technique where, instead of drawing, painting or carving, dolls are burned into the surface with a heated pen tool. That kind of art is mostly done on wood, which is why you’ll also see people refer to it as wood burning.
With pyrography art, there is no set style, it’s open to personal interpretation.
While some artists stick to a traditional approach, others are bending the boundaries with their own unique styles, by incorporating paints, wood oils and stains.