Russian nesting doll (painted
wooden dolls nestled into one another) is widely known outside
Russia and has a history of more than a century long. During
this relatively short time, it became a symbol of Russia and
its folk art.
The
name matryoshka is derived from the name Matryona, a common
(in the past) Russian folk name, which comes from Latin "mater"
-"mother". A doll with many offspring - a nesting doll
- is associated with a sturdy family matron, and is a symbol
of motherhood, fertility as well as of the family, the
village, the nation.
The
first Russian Matryoshka was created based on a Japanese "take-apart"
doll, but Russian artisans had already had a long tradition
of making dolls which fit into each other, for instance, Easter
eggs.
|
There
are several production centers for the Russian matryoshkas:
Sergiev Posad,
Semyonov, and the villages of Polhovsky Maidan and Krutets in
the Nizhni Novgorod area.
Each
place has its own distinct style. For example, a Sergiev Posad
matryoshka is bell shaped, painted in gouache, and has a varnish
surface. A Semyonov doll is slender but widens sharply towards
the bottom. It is colored predominantly in red, blue and yellow
tones, and can contain many, up to 72 pieces.
>read
more>read
all |
Featured Items |
|
