Brief history of the nesting doll. Russian folk toy matryoshka: history, types of nesting dolls, benefits, games with nesting dolls for children

Preschoolers about the Russian nesting doll

Russian matryoshka for children

History of matryoshka
Although the nesting doll has long gained a reputation as a symbol of our country, its roots are by no means Russian. According to the most common version, the history of the nesting doll originates in Japan.
In the nineties of the 19th century, to the Moscow toy workshop " Children's education"A. Mamontova brought from Japan a figurine of a good-natured bald old man, the sage Fukuruma. Wood turner Vasily Zvezdochkin, who then worked in this workshop, carved similar figures from wood, which were also nested inside one another, and the artist Sergei Malyutin painted them to look like girls and boys. The first matryoshka depicted a girl in a simple city costume: a sundress, an apron, and a scarf with a rooster. The toy consisted of eight figures, alternating with the image of a boy, the latter depicting a swaddled baby.
In another version, the toy was: eight dolls depicting girls different ages, from the oldest (big) girl with a rooster to a baby wrapped in diapers. Today, only those turned and painted wooden souvenir toys that consist of several nested inside one another are called matryoshka dolls.
The first Russian nesting dolls were created in Sergiev Posad as fun for children, which helped them master the concepts of shape, color, quantity and size. Such toys were quite expensive. But demand for them appeared immediately. A few years after the appearance of the first nesting doll, almost the entire Sergiev Posad was making these charming dolls. The original plot of the Russian nesting doll is Russian girls and women, rosy-cheeked and plump, dressed in sundresses and scarves, with dogs, cats, baskets, and flowers.
In 1900, Maria Mamontova, the wife of S.I. Mamontov’s brother, presented dolls at World's Fair in Paris, where they earned bronze medal. Soon matryoshka dolls began to be made in many places in Russia. Also in Semenov, on art factory“Semyonovskaya painting”, in 1922 the traditional Russian Semyonovskaya matryoshka doll was born, which the whole world knows today.
After the first children's nesting doll appeared in different regions of Russia, artists began to paint nesting dolls, they liked this doll so much! And they all did it differently. Sergiev Posad, Polkhov Maidan, Vyatka, city
Semenov - ancient centers of folk crafts, which
Matryoshka helped to become famous, and from here
names of types of nesting dolls - Sergiev Posad
(Zagorskaya), Semenovskaya (Khokhloma) and Polkhov-Maidanskaya.

Why was the doll called “matryoshka”?
Matryoshka (diminutive of the name “Matryona”. Almost unanimously, all researchers refer to the fact that this name comes from the female name Matryona, common in Russia: “The name Matryona comes from the Latin Matrona, which means “noble woman”, in the church it was written Matrona , among the diminutive names: Motya, Motrya, Matryosha, Matyusha, Tyusha, Matusya, Tusya, Musya.
Why this chiseled doll began to be called a matryoshka doll, no one knows for sure. Maybe that’s what the seller advertising his product called her, or maybe that’s the name the buyers gave her: the name Matryona was very common among ordinary people, so they began to affectionately call the toy Matryosha, Matryonushka; Thus, the name Matryoshka stuck.
What are nesting dolls made of? Manufacturing technique
Behind long years existence of the nesting doll, the principles of its manufacture have not changed. Matryoshka dolls are made from larch, birch, linden and aspen, always felled in early spring. Each master knows his own secret to wood and preparing it for processing. He spends a long time choosing trees that are straight and not knotty. When clearing a tree of bark, the master always leaves it untouched in several places. This is done so that the wood does not crack when drying. Then the prepared logs are stacked so that air can pass freely between them. For several years, the trunks are weathered, dried on outdoors to the desired humidity. It is very important here not to over-dry or over-dry the log - they know this secret craftsmen. As they say, the tree must ring and sing. Dried logs are sawn into logs and blanks. A fake doll undergoes up to 15 operations before becoming a beautiful, elegant doll. With great skill inherent in sculptors, the turner turns the head and body of the nesting doll from the outside and inside, using simple tools - a knife and chisels. First, the smallest nesting doll is turned from birch - a non-opening figurine. Then - the lower part of the next - the bottom. The master makes bottoms for nesting dolls for a thousand pieces at a time. This is done so that the lower part can dry out. When the turner finishes the tenth hundred, the first hundred has already dried and the upper part of the toy can be prepared for it. There is no need to dry the upper part of the nesting doll; it is put on the bottom, where it dries out and tightly clasps the thorn and therefore holds tightly. The figures are carefully sanded, primed with potato paste and dried. Now it is ready for painting, and after painting it is varnished. First, the base of the drawing is applied with a pencil. Then they plan
contours of the mouth, eyes, cheeks. And then they draw clothes for the matryoshka. Typically, when painting, they use gouache, watercolor or acrylic. Each locality has its own canons of painting, its own colors and shapes. Gouache was previously used for painting. Nowadays, their unique images are created using watercolors, tempera, and aniline paints. However, gouache still remains the most favorite paint of artists who paint nesting dolls. As a rule, the face and apron are painted first, and then the scarf and sundress.
A good nesting doll is distinguished by the fact that: all its figures easily fit into each other; two parts of one nesting doll fit tightly and do not dangle; the drawing is correct and clear; Well, and, of course, a good nesting doll should be beautiful.
Original plots wooden nesting dolls were exclusively female: ruddy and plump red maidens were dressed in sundresses and scarves, depicted with cats, dogs, baskets, etc.
Sergiev Posad (Zagorsk) matryoshka doll
This toy still looks like the first matryoshka doll with a rooster in its hands. The Zagorsk nesting doll is of good quality, steep-sided, and stable in shape. Paint it on white wood with gouache paints, using pure (local) colors. The oval of the face and hands are painted over with a “flesh” color. Two strands of hair are hidden under a scarf, the nose is represented with two dots, and the lips are made with three dots: two at the top, one at the bottom, and the lips are ready with a bow. The Zagorsk matryoshka's scarf is tied in a knot. Next, the master draws the sleeves of the jacket and sundress. The scarf and apron are decorated with a simple floral pattern, which is easily obtained if you apply a brush with paint, leaving a trace of a petal or leaf. A round center of a flower or a “pea” can be obtained by using the poking technique. Having finished painting, the master varnishes the matryoshka doll. This makes it even brighter and more elegant. Laconicism and simplicity of design created a clear and joyful image of a Russian village doll. That’s probably why everyone, young and old, loves the nesting doll.
Semenovskaya matryoshka
Semenovskaya (the town of Semenov, in the Nizhny Novgorod region) the toy is also turned on a lathe. For work, use well-dried linden, aspen, and birch wood. Undried wood cannot be used, otherwise a product made from raw wood may crack, split, and it will be a pity for the labor spent on it. The turned product - linen - is similar in shape to the Zagorsk one, but somewhat narrowed at the bottom. But they paint it differently, and use different colors. First, the white nesting doll is primed with potato paste, rubbing it into the pores of the wood. This is necessary so that the paints do not spread over the wooden fibers and so that the nesting doll shines immediately after the first varnish coating. On the dried, primed surface, the craftswomen make a “tip” with black ink: they draw out the oval of the face, eyes, nose, lips, outline a scarf tied in a knot, and separate the border on the scarf (this is important, because the border with flower buds is hallmark Semyonovskaya matryoshka). Then they draw an oval in which hands and flowers are depicted: lush roses, bells, spikelets.
So, the tip is ready. Now painting is done with aniline transparent paints of yellow, red, crimson, green, purple flowers. And finally, the nesting doll is varnished. And here in front of us is a bright matryoshka doll.
Polkhov-Maidan Matryoshka doll
This is the neighbor of Semenov’s nesting doll. And they grind it in the village of Polkhovsky Maidan, Nizhny Novgorod region. The first two stages - priming with paste and brushing - are carried out in the same way as in Semenovskaya, but the painting is more laconic: an oval face with curls of hair, a scarf flows from the head, a rose trefoil on the head, an oval replacing the apron is filled with floral painting. Lush roses, dahlias, bells, rose hips, and berries decorate this nesting doll. And she will be slimmer than her friends: the shape of the nesting dolls is more elongated, the head is small and flattened. Polkhovsky Maidan is the name of the village. “Maidan” is a very old village, and it means “gathering of people.” And Polkhovka is the river on which the village stands.
Vyatka (Kirov) nesting doll
Residents of Vyatka and surrounding villages have long been engaged in the production of toys. The special peculiarity of the Vyatka painted wooden doll is that they began to not only paint the nesting doll with aniline dyes, but also inlay it with straws. The Vyatka nesting doll is easy to recognize by its friendly, smiling face with large blue eyes, reddish-brown hair, a traditional outfit painted with bright aniline dyes. On her apron are bouquets of flowers from large scarlet poppies or roses framed by leaves. Matryoshka dolls are often decorated with patterns made using the straw appliqué technique. For inlay, rye straw is used, which is grown in special areas and carefully cut by hand with a sickle. To obtain a decorative effect, one part of the straw is boiled in a soda solution until golden brown, the other remains white. Then the straw is cut, smoothed, and the details of the desired pattern are knocked out with a stamp. Glue the straws onto the damp nitrocellulose varnish.
The golden color, depending on the change in viewing angle, can become pearlescent; they have learned to paint it in different colors, reminiscent of precious stones under the varnish coating. A matryoshka doll painted with aniline dyes and inlaid with straws is covered
oil varnish.
Tver matryoshka
The Tver matryoshka doll often reveals historical and fairy tale characters: Snow Maiden, Princess Nesmeyana, Vasilisa the Beautiful. Outfits and hats can be completely different, which makes the doll very interesting for children.

Physical education minutes
We are funny Matryoshkas -
(hands in front of chest, index finger right hand rests on the cheek)
Okay, okay -
(claps hands)
We have boots on our feet -
(alternately put the right and left legs forward)
Okay, okay -
(claps hands)
In our colorful sundresses -
(imitation of holding the hem of a sundress)
Okay, okay -
(claps hands)
We look alike, like sisters -
(hold on to the imaginary ends of the handkerchief and squat)
Okay, okay -
(claps hands)
***

(floods in place)
We are nesting dolls, these little ones -
(holding onto an imaginary sundress)
And we, and we have clean palms -
(claps hands)
We are nesting dolls, these little ones -
(holding onto an imaginary sundress)
And we, and we have new boots -
(alternately put the right and left leg forward
We are nesting dolls, these little ones -
(holding onto an imaginary sundress)
We went out to dance, dance a little -
(turns with stomps around you)
***
They clap their hands.
Friendly nesting dolls.
(clap hands)
Boots on my feet,
(hands on the waist, alternately placing the right leg forward on the heel, then the left)
Matryoshka dolls are stomping.
(stomping feet)
Lean left, right,
(body tilts left - right)
Bow to everyone you know.
(tilts head left and right)
The girls are naughty
Painted dolls.
In your colorful sundresses
(hands to shoulders, body turns right - left)
You look like sisters.
Okay, okay,
Funny nesting dolls.
(clap hands)
***

Riddles about matryoshka

Friends of different heights
They don't look alike
They all sit next to each other,
In this young lady
The sisters are hiding.
Every sister
For the smaller one - a dungeon.
Matryoshka
***
These bright sisters
They hid their pigtails together
And they live as a family alone.
Just open the older one
Another sister sits in it,
That one also has a smaller sister.
You'll get to the crumbs
These girls are... Matryoshka
***
She looks alone, big,
But the second sister sits in it,
And you will find the third in the second.
Taking them apart one by one,
You'll get to the smallest one.
Inside them all is a baby, a baby.
All together - a souvenir.. Matryoshka
***
There are different girlfriends nearby,
But they look alike.
They all sit next to each other,
And just one toy.

Matryoshka
***
Scarlet silk handkerchief,
Bright sundress with flowers,
Hand rests
On wooden sides.
And there are secrets inside:
Maybe three, maybe six.
I got a little flushed.
This is a Russian... Matryoshka.
***
The children sit quietly in it,
They don't want to show themselves.
What if their mother loses them?
What if someone scatters them?!
Matryoshka
***
Hiding from you and me
One doll into another.
There are polka dots on the scarves.
What kind of dolls?
Matryoshka
***
Like a turnip, it's steep-sided,
And under the scarlet scarf on us
Looks fun, smart, wide
A pair of black currant eyes.
Scarlet silk handkerchief,
Bright sundress with flowers.
The hand rests on the wooden sides.
And there are secrets inside:
Maybe three, maybe six:
Got a little flushed
Our Russian… Matryoshka

Poems about matryoshka

Take a quick look -
The cheeks are turning pink,
A colorful handkerchief
Floral dress
Chubby babes -
Russian nesting dolls.
Just a little scared
Everyone runs into a circle,
Hiding in each other
Smart girlfriends.
T. Lisenkova
***
colorful dress,
Rosy cheeks!
We open it -
The daughter is hiding in it.
Matryoshkas are dancing
Matryoshka dolls laugh
And they happily ask
Make you smile!
They jump towards you
Right into your palms -
How funny
These nesting dolls!
Wooden girlfriends
They love to hide in each other,
They wear bright clothes
They are called nesting dolls.
A. Grishin
***
There are many dolls in one doll,
This is how they live - in each other's lives,
Their size is strictly calculated -
Wooden girlfriends.
E. Krysin
***
Like in a big, big nesting doll,
There is less, a little bit,
Well, there’s a little more in it,
Well, there’s a tiny nesting doll in it,
Well, there’s no one in the crumbs.
There are four of them in total.
R. Karapetyan
***
Gave it to Masha
Matryoshka - there is nothing more beautiful!
Everything is so good:
Bright, elegant!

It's fun to play with her
You can even open it.
Open it up a little bit
There's another nesting doll inside!
Just a little smaller,
Otherwise, they're just twins!

We began to look for the third one,
It turned out to be five!
Five nesting dolls - all in one
They can hide sometimes.
L. Gromova

***
There is a doll on the shelf,
She is bored and sad.
But you will take it in your hands
And you will find another one in it.
And in that one... And now in a row
Five cute dolls are standing.
Although the height is different, but still
They're all surprisingly similar.
In elegant colorful sundresses
Ruddy nesting dolls-sisters.
There was one, but there were five,
They have no time to be bored anymore!
And the girlfriends will play enough,
And again they will hide in each other.
N. Radchenko
***
These Russian nesting dolls
Multi-colored clothes,
To the secrets of the craftswoman,
The sisters are hiding in the older one.
You won’t understand how many of them there are,
If you can't find the younger one.
Julia Room
***
-Oh, you matryoshka young lady,
I'll take you in my hands
Show me those girls
What is sitting inside you!

Oh, you matryoshka young lady,
Multi-colored clothes,
The whole wide world knows
This Russian souvenir!
S. Ivanov
***
Nice doll - matryoshka,
Where are the pens?
Where are the legs?
Oh, what cheeks
Red, ruddy,
Flowers on the apron
And on a sundress.
Here is a matryoshka mother,
Here are the nesting dolls - daughters,
The mouth is like berries,
The eyes are like dots!
Mom sings a song
The daughters dance in a round dance,
Mom wants some peace,
They hide in one another!
A. Kuleshova
***
Polkhov-Maidan Matryoshka doll
From Polkhov-Maidan matryoshka
slimmer and a little stricter.
Loves the color raspberry and scarlet.
All in poppies of unprecedented beauty!
Olga Kiseleva
***
Polkhov – Maidan Matryoshka
I am a matryoshka from Maidan.
My outfit is decorated with flowers.
With shining petals.
And different berries,
Ripe and red.
***
Matryoshka dolls from Sergiev Pasad
I'm from Sergiev Pasad
I am very glad to meet you.
Given to me by artists
Bright Russian sundress.
I have for a long time
There is a pattern on the apron.
My handkerchief is famous
Multi-colored border.

***
Semenovskaya matryoshka
From Semenov's nesting doll,
and inside there are matryoshka crumbs.
I can count them -
one two three four five!
To count to ten,
I need to grow up a little.
Red bottom and yellow top
all these nesting dolls.
Holds roses in hand
and spirals on a scarf.
Olga Kiseleva
***
Semenovskaya matryoshka
I'm from quiet green
The town of Semenov.
I came to visit you
Bouquet of garden flowers
Pink, burgundy
I brought it as a gift.
***
Vyatka matryoshka
Our lips are like a bow,
Yes, the cheeks are like apples,
Have known us for a long time
All the people are at the fair.
We are Vyatka nesting dolls
More beautiful than anyone in the world.
Painted, bright
Our sundresses.
***
colorful dresses,
Rosy cheeks!
We open it -
Daughters are hiding in it.
***
Matryoshka on the window
Under a bright sundress,
And the whole family is in a nesting doll.
Like in a wooden house.
Everyone loves nesting dolls very much
Multi-colored clothes:
Always amazingly painted
Very bright and beautiful.
They are noble toys,
Folding and good.
Matryoshka dolls are famous everywhere.
We really like them!

Russian matryoshka is one of the most famous characters Russia. This is a toy whose popularity has gone far beyond the borders of the state itself. The birthplace of the Russian nesting doll is Sergiev Posad. It was there that the wooden young lady was first invented, from which similar toys appeared when opened. different sizes.

Unlike many folk crafts, the popularity of which was lost due to the emergence of new techniques and materials, the Russian nesting doll is still very popular all over the world.

History of the emergence of the fishery

(Turner Vasily Petrovich Zvezdochkin, creator of the first Russian nesting doll)

The appearance of the first Russian nesting doll dates back to 1898 - 1900. It was at this time that the famous turner, Vasily Petrovich Zvezdochkin, who was engaged in the manufacture of wooden toys, at the request of Sergei Malyutin, made a blank from wood, into which the same opening blanks, but of different sizes, were inserted. The subject for painting the very first toy was the everyday activities that Russian beauties did. The matryoshka consisted of eight wooden dolls.

(Classic matryoshka)

Later, various variations of nesting dolls appeared, the number of dolls in which was different. So, at the beginning of the 20th century, products consisted of 24 elements, and the famous turner Nikita Bulychev created a doll consisting of 48 wooden young ladies. Matryoshka dolls began to be produced on a mass scale in Mamontov’s artel in Sergiev Posad.

A few years after its production, the Russian nesting doll was presented at an exhibition in Paris. Foreigners liked the toy so much that Russian craftsmen received orders for it not only from the vastness of the Motherland, but also from other countries. Less than a dozen years have passed since the first precedents for making counterfeit nesting dolls appeared in other countries.

Elements of fishing

Russian nesting dolls differed not only in the number of dolls that were included in one product. The depicted subjects and painting techniques were different.

(Matryoshka family of 8 dolls)

The most common were dolls consisting of 3, 8 and 12 elements. Masters also produced matryoshka dolls of 21, 24, 30 and 42 dolls.

Traditional subjects for depictions on matryoshka dolls were everyday themes. Most often, the occupations of Russian young ladies of one period or another were reflected. The girls were depicted in traditional dresses with scarves on their heads. In their hands they could hold sickles for the harvest, jugs of milk, baskets of berries, etc. A little later, other subjects began to be depicted on matryoshka dolls, for example, characters from fairy tales and fables, heroes of stories by famous writers.

Also, instead of young ladies, generals, politicians and other prominent figures could be depicted.

(Old ends XIX beginning XX centuries and modern nesting dolls of the XX-XXI centuries)

At some point in time, even the shape of the nesting dolls changed, for example, cone-shaped dolls appeared, inserted into one another. Such forms have not gained popularity among common people, and quickly sank into oblivion.

Traditional nesting dolls also differed in their painting style. Today there are:

• Zagorsk style with bright and rich colors and many small, clearly drawn elements;
• Merinovo matryoshka doll with painting of large flowers;
• Semenov style with strict symmetrical painting;
• Polkhovskaya with the obligatory image of a rose hip flower;
• Vyatka doll depicting a northern young lady, modest and shy.

(Types of nesting dolls from different regions of Russia, as well as Ukraine)

The traditional material for making nesting dolls is deciduous tree species, since they are the easiest to process. Most often, craftsmen use linden; colored gouache, ink, and aniline paints are used as paints for painting. The finished product is protected by wood wax or clear oil-based varnish.

Execution technique

A turner is traditionally involved in making matryoshka dolls. It is his task to prepare linden blanks. Only mature and thoroughly dried tree samples are taken for cutting.

(Making nesting dolls)

First, the craftsman grinds out the smallest solid figurine. After that, he moves on to the next largest figurine and makes only its lower part. After processing, this element is well dried, and only then the upper part of the figurine is adjusted. According to this scheme, all the components of the nesting doll are prepared.

Dried parts must be treated with starch glue. It is applied as a primer layer and serves as the basis for painting. After the primer has thoroughly dried, the craftsmen begin painting the nesting dolls. For this, goose feathers, brushes, sponges, etc. are used.

(Painting the finished matryoshka doll)

The painting techniques used today are different, but the traditional images are very simple, since the doll was originally intended for children to play with. Masters draw a simple face. The doll's head is necessarily depicted covered with a scarf, which is painted in traditional Russian patterns. The type of clothing most often depicted is a sundress; sometimes it can be complemented by an apron. The figurine is decorated floral patterns.

After the paint has dried, a finishing layer is applied, which protects the nesting doll from moisture and chips.

When and where did the nesting doll first appear, who invented it?

Why is a wooden folding doll-toy called “matryoshka”?

What does such a unique piece of folk art symbolize?

The first Russian nesting doll, carved by Vasily Zvezdochkin and painted by Sergei Malyutin, had eight seats: a girl with a black feather was followed by a boy, then again a girl, and so on. All the figures were different from each other, and the last, eighth, depicted a swaddled baby.

ABOUT exact date appearance of the nesting doll I. Sotnikova writes the following: “...sometimes the appearance of the nesting doll is dated back to 1893-1896, because These dates were established from the reports and reports of the Moscow provincial zemstvo government. In one of these reports for 1911, N.D. Bartram 1 writes that the nesting doll was born about 15 years ago, and in 1913, in the Bureau’s report to the handicraft council, he reports that the first nesting doll was created 20 years ago. That is, relying on such approximate reports is quite problematic, therefore, in order to avoid mistakes, the end of the 19th century is usually called, although there is also a mention of 1900, when the nesting doll won recognition at the World Exhibition in Paris, and orders for its production appeared abroad.”

“Turner Zvezdochkin claimed that he originally made two nesting dolls: a three-seater and a six-seater. The Museum of Toys in Sergiev Posad houses an eight-seater nesting doll, which is considered the first, the same round-faced girl in a sundress, an apron, and a flowered scarf, who holds a black rooster in her hand. She is followed by three sisters, a brother, two more sisters and a baby. It is often stated that there were not eight dolls, but seven; they also say that girls and boys alternated. This is not the case for the set housed in the Museum.

Matryoshka name

Here we are, all matryoshka and matryoshka... But this doll didn’t even have a name. And when the turner made it, and the artist painted it, the name came by itself - Matryona. They also say that at Abramtsevo evenings tea was served by a servant with that name. Try at least a thousand names - and not a single one will suit this wooden doll better.”

Why was the original wooden doll-toy called “matryoshka”? Almost unanimously, all researchers refer to the fact that this name comes from the female name Matryona, common in Russia: “The name Matryona comes from the Latin Matrona, which means “noble woman”, in the church it was written Matrona, among the diminutive names: Motya, Motrya, Matryosha, Matyusha, Tyusha, Matusya, Tusya, Musya. That is, theoretically, a matryoshka could also be called a motka (or muska). It sounds strange, of course, but what’s worse, for example, “marfushka”? Also a good and common name is Martha. Or Agafya, by the way, popular painting on porcelain is called “agashka”. Although we agree that the name “matryoshka” is a very apt one, the doll has truly become “noble.”

Nevertheless, the nesting doll has gained unprecedented recognition as a symbol of Russian folk art.


There is a belief that if you put a note with a wish inside a nesting doll, it will certainly come true, and the more work put into the matryoshka, i.e. the more places it has and the better the quality of the matryoshka’s painting, the faster desire will come true. Matryoshka is warmth and comfort in the house.”

In other words, one thing is hidden in the other, enclosed - and in order to find the truth, it is necessary to get to the essence, opening, one after another, all the “slapped caps”. Perhaps this is precisely the true meaning of such a wonderful Russian toy as the matryoshka - a reminder to descendants of historical memory our people?

However, most likely, the idea of ​​a wooden toy, which consists of several figures inserted into one another, was inspired by Russian fairy tales to the master who created the nesting doll. Many, for example, know and remember the fairy tale about Koshchei, with whom Ivan Tsarevich fights. For example, the plot about the prince’s search for “Koshchey’s death” is heard by Afanasyev: “To accomplish such a feat, extraordinary efforts and labors are needed, because Koshchey’s death is hidden far away: on the sea on the ocean, on an island on Buyan there is green oak, under that oak tree there is an iron chest buried, in that chest there is a hare, in the hare there is a duck, in the duck there is an egg; All you have to do is crush the egg and Koschey dies instantly.”

And it is no coincidence that the wonderful Russian writer Mikhail Prishvin once wrote the following: “I thought that each of us has a life like the outer shell of a folding Easter egg; It seems that this red egg is so big, and it’s only a shell - you open it, and there’s a blue, smaller one, and again a shell, and then a green one, and at the very end for some reason a yellow egg always pops out, but it doesn’t open anymore, and that’s the most, the most ours.”


So it turns out that the Russian nesting doll is not so simple - this component our lives

The principles of making a nesting doll have not changed over the many years that this toy has existed.

Matryoshka dolls are made from well-dried, durable linden and birch wood. The smallest, one-piece matryoshka doll is always made first, which can be very tiny - the size of a grain of rice. Making nesting dolls is a delicate art that takes years to learn; some skilled turners even learn how to turn matryoshka dolls blindly!


Before painting the nesting dolls are primed, after painting they are varnished. In the nineteenth century, gouache was used to paint these toys - now unique images of nesting dolls are also created using aniline paints, tempera, and watercolors.

But gouache still remains the favorite paint of artists who paint nesting dolls.

First of all, the face of the toy and the apron with a picturesque image are painted, and only then the sundress and scarf.

Since the mid-twentieth century, nesting dolls began to be not only painted, but also decorated - with mother-of-pearl plates, straws, and later with rhinestones and beads...

There are entire museums in Russia dedicated to nesting dolls. The first in Russia - and in the world! - The Matryoshka Museum opened in 2001 in Moscow. The Moscow Matryoshka Museum is located on the premises of the Folk Crafts Fund in Leontyevsky Lane; its director, Larisa Solovyova, devoted more than one year to the study of nesting dolls. She is the author of two books about these funny wooden dolls. And quite recently, in 2004, it opened its own nesting doll museum in the Nizhny Novgorod region - it collected more than 300 exhibits under its roof. There are presented matryoshka dolls with a unique Polkhovsky-Maidanovsky painting - the same Polkhov-Maidanovsky dolls that are known all over the world and which villagers have been bringing for sale to Moscow for many decades in huge baskets, sometimes loaded with up to a hundred kilograms of precious toys! The largest matryoshka doll in this museum is one meter long: it includes 40 dolls. And the smallest is only the size of a grain of rice! Matryoshka dolls are admired not only in Russia: quite recently, in 2005, a group of painted dolls came to the International Trade Exhibition of high-quality consumer goods "Ambiente-2005" in Germany, in the city of Frankfurt am Main.


The image of the matryoshka combines the art of masters and a great love for Russian folk culture. Now on the streets of St. Petersburg and Moscow you can buy a variety of souvenirs for every taste - nesting dolls depicting politicians, famous musicians, grotesque characters...


But still, every time we say “matryoshka”, we immediately imagine a cheerful Russian girl in a bright folk costume.

A traditional Russian souvenir, a symbol of our country, the nesting doll is a very young toy: it appeared only a little over a hundred years ago, in the 90s of the 19th century. However, already in 1900, at the World Exhibition in Paris, nesting dolls received gold medal as an example of "national art".

There is still no consensus among researchers regarding the exact age and origin of the nesting doll. According to the most common version, the first Russian nesting doll was born in the Moscow workshop-shop “Children's Education,” which belonged to the family of publisher and typographer Anatoly Ivanovich Mamontov, brother of the famous industrialist and philanthropist Savva Mamontov. According to legend, Anatoly Ivanovich’s wife brought from Japan, from the island of Honshu, a chiseled figurine of the Japanese god Fukurokoju. In Russia it is known under the name Fukuruma, but in Japan there is no such word at all, and this name is most likely the result of the fact that someone at one time did not hear well or did not remember the name, which was outlandish to the Russian ear. The toy had a secret: it was divided into two parts, and inside it was the same figurine, but smaller, also consisting of two halves... This toy fell into the hands of famous artist Russian modernist Sergei Malyutin and pointed him to interesting thought. He asked a turner, a hereditary toy maker, Vasily Petrovich Zvezdochkin, to carve a blank form from wood, and then he painted it with his own hands. It was a chubby, plump girl in a simple Russian sundress with a rooster in her hands. From it, one after another, other peasant girls appeared: with a sickle for the harvest, a basket, a jug, a girl with a younger sister, a younger brother, everything - a little less. The last, eighth, depicted a swaddled baby. It is believed that the matryoshka got its name spontaneously - that’s what someone called it in the workshop during the production process (The name “Matryona” is a re-interpretation of the word “matrona”, meaning mother of the family, mother, respectable woman). So the girl was named Matryona, or lovingly, affectionately - Matryoshka. Image colorful toys deeply symbolic: from the very beginning she became the embodiment of motherhood and fertility.

However, there are many blank spots in this legend. Firstly, the artist Malyutin’s legacy did not contain a sketch of the matryoshka doll. There is no evidence that Malyutin ever made this sketch. Moreover, turner V. Zvezdochkin claimed that he invented it new toy, having seen a suitable piece of wood in some magazine. Based on her model, he carved a figurine that had a “ridiculous appearance, resembled a nun” and was “deaf” (did not open), and gave the blank to a group of artists to paint.

Perhaps the master, over the years, could have forgotten who exactly painted the first nesting doll. It could well have been S. Malyutin - at that time he collaborated with the publishing house of A. I. Mamontov, illustrating children's books. Who invented the matryoshka");">*

The first nesting dolls
Toy Museum, Sergiev Posad

Be that as it may, there is no doubt that the first Russian nesting doll saw the light in late XIX century (it is unlikely that it will be possible to determine the exact year). In Abramtsevo, in the Mamontov artel, mass production of nesting dolls was established. The first nesting doll is a girl in a folk dress, painted with gouache, looks very modest. Over time, painting of toys became more complicated - nesting dolls with complex floral patterns and picturesque scenes from fairy tales and epics appeared. Their number in the set has also increased. At the beginning of the 20th century, 24-seat nesting dolls were already made. And in 1913, turner Nikolai Bulychev created a 48-seat doll. In the 1900s, the Children's Education workshop closed, but the production of nesting dolls began to continue in Sergiev Posad, 70 kilometers north of Moscow, in a training and demonstration workshop.

The supposed prototype of the nesting doll, the figurine of Fukurokuju, depicts one of the seven gods of happiness, the god of an academic career, wisdom and intuition. The very image of Fukurokuju testifies to great intelligence, generosity and wisdom: his head has an unusually elongated forehead, grotesque facial features, deep transverse wrinkles on the forehead, and he usually holds a staff with a scroll in his hands.

The ancient sages of Japan believed that man has seven bodies, each of which is patronized by one god: physical, ethereal, astral, mental, spiritual, cosmic and nirvana. Therefore, an unknown Japanese master decided to place several figures symbolizing human bodies, one inside the other, and the first Fukuruma was seven-seater, that is, it consisted of seven figures nested inside each other.

Some researchers connect the origin of the Russian nesting doll with another doll, also Japanese - the figurine of Saint Daruma.

This toy embodies the image of a monk named Daruma. Daruma is the Japanese version of the name Bodhidharma. This was the name of the Indian sage who came to China and founded the Shaolin Monastery. According to Japanese legend, Daruma meditated tirelessly for nine years while looking at a wall. At the same time, Daruma was constantly exposed to various temptations, and one day he suddenly realized that instead of meditating, he fell into sleep. Then he cut off the eyelids from his eyes with a knife and threw them to the ground. Now with constantly with open eyes Bodhidharma could stay awake, and from his discarded eyelids a wonderful plant appeared that drove away sleep - this is how real tea grew. And later, from sitting for a long time, Daruma lost his arms and legs.

This is why the wooden doll representing Daruma is depicted as legless and armless. She has big ones Round eyes, but no pupils. This is connected with one interesting ritual that exists to this day.

A painted figurine of Daruma without pupils is bought at the temple and brought home. They make a wish on it, painting one of the toy’s eyes themselves. This ceremony is symbolic: by opening an eye, a person asks Daruma to fulfill his dream. All year round, Daruma stands in the house in the most honorable place, for example, next to the Buddhist altar. If during the year the wish comes true, then as a sign of gratitude they “open”, that is, paint the second eye of Daruma. If Daruma was not honored to fulfill the owner’s desire, then under New Year the doll is brought back to the temple where it was bought. Bonfires are lit near the temples, where Darum who did not ensure the fulfillment of a wish are burned. And instead of Darum, who were unable to fulfill their wishes, they buy new ones.

A similar belief exists about nesting dolls: it is believed that if you put a note with a wish inside a nesting doll, it will certainly come true, and the more work put into the doll, the faster the wish will come true.

The hypothesis of the origin of the nesting doll from Daruma does not take into account the fact that this doll is not collapsible at all. In essence, the daruma toy is... a tumbler. A weight, usually made of clay, is placed at the base of the Daruma, made of papier-mâché, to prevent it from falling. There is even such a poem: “Look! Daruma is like Vanka, standing up! You put him down, and Daruma jumps up, like Vanka, he doesn’t want to lie down!” Thus, Daruma is most likely not the ancestor, but only a distant relative of both the nesting doll and the tumbler.

By the way, detachable figurines were popular even before the appearance of nesting dolls both in Japan and in Russia. So, in Rus' there were “pysankas” - painted wooden Easter eggs. Sometimes they were made hollow inside, and the smaller was put into the larger. This idea is also explored in folklore: remember? - "a needle in an egg, an egg in a duck, a duck in a hare..."

The folk costume of our ancestors was amazingly beautiful. Every detail of it was evidence of the way of life of this or that volost. Clothing, both festive and everyday, corresponded to the lifestyle, well-being and marital status. The color scheme was varied - combinations of red, blue, yellow and green flowers, with bright flora, embroidered on aprons, scarves, on the sleeves and hem of shirts. All this gave a festive look to any woman, even on a gloomy winter day. Once visiting a Russian landowner foreign traveler, looking out the window, I saw an extraordinary sight: “What is this?” - That was all he could say. The landowner exclaimed somewhat in bewilderment: “But these are the women from my village going to church for Sunday service.” The foreign guest was amazed at the colorful spectacle of festively dressed peasant women. He had never seen a simple woman dressed so smartly.

So the famous Russian nesting doll apparently borrowed these outfits from Russian beauties and craftsmen - craftsmen who fantasized and painted with pleasure different patterns wooden dolls.

The history of the creation of the Russian nesting doll

Where is the homeland of this beloved wooden toy, which has become one of the best souvenirs from Russia? It is the Moscow district that is the birthplace of the famous Russian nesting doll. Although, in more detail, at the end of the 19th century, Alexandra Mamontova brought a figurine of the Japanese old sage Fukuruma to the Moscow factory “Children's Education”. The toy was interesting because it contained several figures that were nested one inside the other, smaller and smaller in size, until the very last one turned out to be very small. So local craftsmen decided to repeat this fun for their children. Vasily Zvezdochkin carved the toy, which consisted of eight figures, and the artist Sergei Malyutin painted the figures. But the first toy consisted not only of Russian beauties. It alternated images of a Russian beauty, dressed in a sundress, an apron and a scarf, with images of stately young men, and the smallest was a baby - a baby.

They called the doll “Matryoshka” - it was very popular then female name– Matryona (Matrona). In 1900, production moved to the provincial town of Sergiev Posad.

Sergievsky district, named so under Catherine II, was located in dense forests, and the wooden toy industry has long flourished in all villages. Matryoshka dolls were carved from aspen, birch, linden, alder and painted bright colors their outfits: cheap dolls - with glue paints, and expensive ones - with enamels and watercolors. People loved these bright beauties and bought them not only for children, but also for their collections. Is there a family of nesting dolls in your collection of dolls, or at least one of them?

Bag from the House of Chanel in the shape of a Russian doll

Designer nesting dolls created for the anniversary of VOGUE magazine, intended for sale at auction, with a starting price of 5,000 euros. Each nesting doll is dedicated to the creativity of one fashion house. (charity auction)