Souvenirs from Russia: dolls

Souvenirs from Russia: dolls





We've all heard about the doll, but very few people, know the history of this popular souvenir. The first doll I saw the world in 1890, and became the prototype of a Buddhist statue of St. Fukuruma, brought from the island of Honshu. Figures depict the wise man with an elongated head of long reflection, and, opening it, the owner discovered within a few figures. These figures were a total of five. The intricate thing because you liked that, by her likeness carved turner Vasiliy Zvezdochkin dolls and artist Sergei Malyutin painted them. The pin was a picture of the popular girl in a headscarf and red Sarafan, with a cock in her hands. The toy consisted of eight figures, which are somewhat different from each other. The girl was a boy then a girl again, and most recently was in the form of an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. Since the most common name at that time was - Matrona, then the toy was named the same way. And there was a popular souvenir - Matryoshka.


Matryoshka quickly gained popularity, both in Russia and around the world and this has contributed to a show in Paris in 1900, where the dolls have made an unprecedented splash. Initially the studio for the production of souvenirs people was located in Moscow, but then for some reason the workshop had to move to the suburbs to the city of Sergiev Posad. Due to strong demand for dolls, their production soon began to engage families. Fathers carved figures, painted by their mother, and children are covered with wax or varnish. Soon, not only in Sergiev Posad produced souvenirs popular - dolls, but also in the city of Nizhny Novgorod province and Semenov in the village of Maidan Polch.



Each locality had its own over time, a certain style of painting and making dolls, the most popular of which are Sergievsky (Zagorsk), maydanovsky and Semenov. With the development of art making souvenirs people (dolls) is beginning to change the number of figurines hidden in the largest. And if the first nesting doll was only eight dolls. But nowadays there are samples that reach a hundred pieces. Moreover, the issue is devoted to dolls often a particular event in history. At the time, dolls have been released party to mark the centennial of the Great Patriotic War. So there were dolls "Kutuzov" and "Napoleon." Often on the figurines dolls depict characters of Russian fairy tales, folk as well as those that emerged from the pen of famous writers. Today there are dolls with the images of known cultural figures and politicians. Their choice is so varied that the tourists simply run away from the eyes of so many people's gift.