Introduction
Russian nesting dolls, or Matryoshka as they are regionally called, are a variety of popular folk art from Russia. The word ‘Matryoshka’ has its origins in the Latin word mater which means mother. The use of mother imagery is the most befitting, as these figurines are carved in such a way that each doll bears smaller dolls inside.
Origins
The Matryoshka is in fact a blend of Japanese and Russian folk art and tradition. The first Matryoshka was created in the 1890s when Sergei Maliutin, a Russian craftsman and illustrator of children’s books, came across a set of Japanese nesting dolls that depicted the Buddhist figure Fukurama. He was greatly inspired by these dolls and decided to bring out a Russian variant of nesting dolls. At that time, Russia had another form of nesting figurines in the form of Easter eggs or Faberge eggs. Maliutin made sketches of his idea and got Vasiliy Zvezdochkin to do the carving. Maliutin later painted the carved figure and thus the first set of Russian nesting dolls were born. This first set had eight dolls one inside the other.
Common Features
Russian nesting dolls are carved out of wood. The shape of the dolls resembles squat bowling pins, with a round head at the top. The top widens to form the torso and legs. The limbs do not separate from the torso. That is, all the details of the face, torso and limbs are painted on the main structure. The figurines can be opened in the middle to house similar smaller figurines. A larger doll contains a small one; this small doll contains another smaller doll and so on. This way, there is a potential to house an infinite number of dolls one inside the other. However the usual number of nesting dolls in a set is between four and twelve.
Russian nesting dolls are generally representations of the Russian peasant girls in their traditional Russian dress, headscarf and apron. These peasant girls are depicted as holding flowers in their hands, the flowers typical of the region of their origin. The outer mother doll often holds within a whole family consisting of males and females, children and even tiny babies. However the trend of painting these dolls with representations of leaders, authors and literary figures is also in vogue.
The Making of Matryoshka
Lime wood is the common material used for making Russian nesting dolls. The process takes quite a long time. Craftsmen first dry the wood in the air for about two years to prepare it for the carving. The carving was earlier considered to be the most intricate and valuable part of the process. Traditional nesting woods are hand-carved, with skilled craftsmen carving each doll of the set without measurement devices or machinery. This is all the more amazing when we consider that each half of the doll has to fit perfectly with the other half. Further, the shell of the dolls has to be thin, so as to leave enough space within to hold many other dolls.
Nesting Dolls as Collectibles
As we saw earlier, Russian nesting dolls are a form of folk art, representing the region’s history, cultural values and artistic traditions. These dolls are available in a wide array of prices ranging from museum pieces to tourist trivia. Mass produced toy versions are available these days and these come for pretty low prices. However you will have to shell out thousands of dollars if you are eyeing nesting dolls from well known regional artisans.
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