Traditional Nesting Doll History
The traditional Russian nesting doll appeared in Russia in the late 1800's, perhaps coming from older examples in China or Japan. Matryoshka doll history is somewhat clouded, but the meaning of the word matryoshka comes from Russian female first name Matryona, literally "little matron". By the mid-1900's, Matryoshka dolls were ubiquitous in the Soviet Union, as nearly every family had these stacking doll sets, factory-made especially for children as many depicted themes of common Russian fairy tales. Also, they could be used as a counting toy; or a puzzle to be taken apart and put together by children, offering hours of play and enjoyment.
Later in the 20th century, Russian Matryoshka dolls became an art form in itself; each doll a canvas for all kinds of individual art. Surely, the fairy-tale themed nesting dolls remain immensely popular, but sets can also be exquisitely painted landscapes, simple peasant scenes, animals, or even portraits or stunning reproductions of Russian religious architecture. Many are large and intricately painted in a color theme or style perfect for interior decoration; others are collectible works of art to be on display in a den or study, with others more simple and meant for fun or themed for Christmas or other holiday use.
Russian Matryoshka Nesting Dolls, a Traditional Collectible Russian Gift!
As the USSR collapsed, and western travelers began to arrive in great numbers into St Petersburg, Moscow, and the Golden Ring cities near these two metropolitan centers, thriving souvenir markets sprung up near churches, museums, and the major tourist attractions. And the one souvenir from Russia every tourist wants is a Matryoshka doll. There were and are actual factories that produce many of the colorful less expensive nesting dolls, like the famous Semonov dolls, but perhaps more are handcrafted by small co-operatives and individual artists in and around the villages.
Many small woodworking shops produce the nesting doll blanks, which are turned on a lathe out of kiln-dried linden-wood, and then these shops supply this wooden "underwear" to the art community who does the painting and creates matryoshka dolls in a wide variety of styles, colors, and themes. Usually sets of 3, 5, and 7 pieces are common in the less expensive souvenir styles. To keep the costs down, an assembly line approach can be utilized, such as having one artist paint the faces, another do the costumes and perhaps a third doing the lacquer work. An even less expensive approach might find the makers using stencils or gluing cutouts of famous churches, icons, or other Russian themed pictures to expedite the process. Some dolls can be done with a wood burning tool; and other artists apply gold or silver foil as highlights.
It is important to know that like any fine art, the Russian nesting dolls also is the higher the quality the higher the price. Many examples of traditional matryoshka dolls can be purchased for well under $30, and these are great Russian souvenirs. However, the higher museum quality, finer detailed, one of a kind nesting dolls sell according to the quality of the art.
Consider hand-painted vs stencil-work, factory-produced vs individual-artist produced, lacquer vs wood-burned, rough vs fine detail and other variables when selecting a matryoshka. The Russian American Company in Sitka Alaska imports directly from Russia, and offers the best quality and best prices anywhere in America.
