05.06.2017 18:56 4523

Who invented the nesting doll and why is it multi-seat?

The matryoshka has been considered a symbol of Russia for many years. It is a collapsible, multi-place painted doll. Surely some of you have such a souvenir at home. But who came up with this unusual toy? And why is it multi-seat?

There are several assumptions regarding the history of the origin of the nesting doll. According to one version, the very first matryoshka appeared in Russia in late XIX century. At that time, it was an eight-person wooden doll that depicted a girl in a sundress, a white apron and a colorful scarf on her head. In her painted hands she held a black rooster.

This nesting doll was turned by turner V.P. Zvezdochkin in a Moscow workshop-shop called " Children's education". Painted the doll famous artist S.V. Malyutin. And she was named by the name Matryona, popular at that time, or rather a playfully affectionate version of it. It is believed that the prototype of the nesting doll was the figurine of the Japanese saint Fukuruma, which was in the house of the owner of the workshop, Mamontov.

Another assumption about the origin of the nesting doll is connected with Japan. Or rather, it says that the Country Rising Sun(that’s what Japan is called) is the birthplace of this world-famous toy.

There are many gods in this ancient country. And each of them was responsible for something: some for the harvest, some helped the righteous, and some were the patron of happiness or art. These gods are diverse and have many faces: cheerful, angry, wise... According to Japanese belief, a person has several bodies, each of which is protected by a god.

In this regard, sets of god figures were very popular in Japan. And the first such doll was the figurine of the Buddhist sage Fukuruma, a good-natured bald old man who was responsible for happiness, prosperity and wisdom.

“Perfect in perfect, similar in similar, one in all and all in one” - this is complete uniformity in which the Japanese see the highest meaning and beauty of existence. And this is precisely what the creation of figurines that fold one after another is based on.

And yet, the town of Sergiev Posad near Moscow is recognized as the real birthplace of the Russian nesting doll - largest center for the production of toys in Russia. The Trinity-Sergius Monastery, located in this city, was the center of artistic crafts of Moscow Rus'. As legends say, Sergius of Radonezh himself, the founder of the monastery, carved toys from wood and gave them to children.

The nesting doll was very popular not only in Russia, but also abroad. After it was presented at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900, the workshop received many orders for it. As a result, it even got to the point where foreigners began to counterfeit the Russian doll.

Over time, the variety of nesting dolls in Sergiev Posad increased. In addition to the nesting dolls depicting girls in sundresses and scarves with baskets, knots, sickles, etc. They began to make dolls in a sheepskin coat with a shawl on their heads and felt boots in their hands, as well as in the form of shepherdesses with a pipe and even an old man with a thick beard and a large stick, and in many other images.

They also created matryoshka dolls in the form of characters. literary works and fairy tales."Turnip", " gold fish", "The Little Humpbacked Horse", "Ivan the Tsarevich" - this is just a part of them all. In addition, the craftsmen even tried to change the shape of the nesting dolls, they began to produce figures in the form of an ancient Russian helmet, as well as cone-shaped ones. However, these toys did not find demand and their production was stopped. From that time until now, traditionally shaped nesting dolls have been produced.

It is worth noting that not all wooden figures are called nesting dolls, but only those that are nested inside each other. The most common were 3-, 8- and 12-seater pupae. And in 1913, turner N. Bulychev made a 48-seater nesting doll for a toy exhibition in St. Petersburg!

In 1918, the Toy Museum was created in Moscow, where a workshop was opened where toys were made, including nesting dolls. Gradually, the production of these dolls spread to many areas of Russia. In each region, the nesting doll was special and had its own unique appearance. For example, the Kirov matryoshka was finished with straw, and the matryoshka from Ufa was created in the Bashkir national style.

There are also historians who believe that the doll was invented and created by ancient Russian craftsmen. At first it was just a wooden block - a children's doll without a face. Then they started painting her - drawing her face and clothes.

And even later, in order to amuse children, they began to make insert figures for the doll. So the nesting doll became multi-place. With time appearance The dolls changed and the number of insert figures also changed. Even nesting dolls appeared with images of generals, and in our time presidents, etc.

There are many disputes about where and when the matryoshka originated. Be that as it may, there is no doubt that the first Russian nesting doll saw the light at the end of the 19th century. There is only one question left: why, when painting a matryoshka doll, do they never draw its legs?

Drawing attention to this fact, some researchers again point out that this could be a sign that Japan could be the birthplace of the nesting doll. And that's why.

IN Japanese culture there is one character - a saint named Daruma. Dolls with his image are also legless. Daruma is a Japanese version Indian name Bodhidharma. This was the name of the Indian sage who came to China and founded the Shaolin Monastery.

So, the Japanese legend says that Daruma meditated tirelessly for nine years, looking at the wall. At the same time, he was constantly exposed to various temptations, and one day he suddenly realized that instead of meditating, he fell into sleep.

Then Daruma cut off the eyelids from his eyes with a knife and threw them to the ground so that they would not interfere with him. Now with constantly with open eyes the saint could stay awake. And from his eyelids, which he threw to the ground, a wonderful plant appeared that drove away sleep - this is how real tea grew, according to legend.

However, this toy has one important difference from the matryoshka doll - it is not collapsible and does not accommodate other figures. Therefore, it is unlikely that Daruma could become a model for creating a nesting doll.

Collapsible figurines, both in Russia and in Japan, were popular even before the appearance of nesting dolls. For example, in Rus', “pysanky” were popular - painted wooden Easter eggs. Sometimes they were made hollow (empty) inside, and then a smaller one was inserted into the larger figurine. This idea is also found in Russian folklore. Remember what the fairy tale says? - “a needle is in an egg, an egg is in a duck, a duck is in a hare...”.

So it turns out that it is impossible to determine exactly where the beloved doll-matryoshka doll was born...

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 work symbolize? folk art?

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 in the world. World's Fair 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 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 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 wooden toy, which consists of several figures inserted into one another, was inspired by the master who created the matryoshka doll from Russian fairy tales. 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 nesting dolls have not changed over the years long years that this toy exists.

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.

Russian matryoshka - the history of the toy

Matryoshka is the most famous and most popular of all Russian souvenirs. The traditional design of the nesting doll today is the image of a young Russian woman dressed in national costume and with a headscarf. In a classic nesting doll, all the dolls in the set look almost identical, and the number of dolls in the set varies from 5 to 30.

History of the name

In the provincial pre-revolutionary Russia The name Matryona was a very popular female name. It comes from the Latin word matrona - in Ancient Rome the name of a freeborn married woman of good reputation and belonging to the upper class. Later in Russian the word matrona began to be used to mean a respected woman, mother of a family. From the term “matrona” comes the Christian female name Matrona, which was transformed in Russian into Matryona.

The name was associated with the image of the mother of a large family, who also had a portly figure. Subsequently, the name Matryona acquired symbolic meaning and was used specifically to describe brightly painted wooden dolls, made so that one was inside the other. Thus, a mother doll with numerous doll daughters perfectly expresses the most ancient symbol of human culture and is also considered a symbol of motherhood and fertility.

Using ancient technologies

Even before the idea of ​​making nesting dolls appeared, Russian artisans had considerable experience in the field of wood processing on lathes. Long before the matryoshka appeared, craftsmen made Easter eggs and apples nested inside one another.

Drying of the wood took place under natural conditions on outdoors and at least two years; only an experienced craftsman could decide when the material would be ready for processing. Then the logs were sawn into blanks.

Manually making a doll on a lathe requires high qualifications and the ability to work with a limited set of tools. The smallest figures were made first. The next doll was then carved from it, and so on. The mold making operations did not involve any measurements; the master relied only on intuition and his skill.

Official history of origin

It is believed that the first Russian nesting doll was born in 1890 in the workshop of the Abramtsevo estate in new Moscow. The owner of the estate was Savva Mamontov, an industrialist and philanthropist.

Seven-seater nesting doll "Fukurama", Japan, ca. 1890

One day Saturday evening someone brought a funny one to the workshop Japanese doll bald old man Fukurama. The doll consisted of seven figures nested one inside the other. The origin of this doll is unknown for certain; no one knows where it came from. However, there are different legends, the most popular of which says that the first doll of this type was made by a Russian monk on the island of Honshu in Japan. In fact, this type of product, when several objects are inserted into one another, has been known for a very long time. Using this technology, Russian artisans produced wooden Easter eggs and apples for several centuries. However, the very idea of ​​​​putting one product into another is quite ancient and goes back to the past of China, and which of the peoples inhabiting it is unknown, since it can be traced long before the unification of Chinese peoples.

One of the artists from the Mamontov workshop, Sergei Malyutin, was intrigued by Fukurama and decided to do something similar, but with Russian specifics. The doll must have a Russian spirit and represent Russian cultural and artistic traditions. So Sergei Malyutin made a sketch of the doll and asked Vasily Zvezdochkin to make a wooden mold based on it.

Old man

Hetman

Malyutin painted the dolls in accordance with own design. The first Russian nesting doll consisted of eight dolls and described a peasant family - a mother and 7 daughters. This set and some other sets are now kept in the Sergiev Posad Toy Museum. There in the museum you can see other old nesting dolls: Old Man, Getman, “The Tale of a Turnip”.

Russian nesting doll style of Sergiev Posad

Until the end of the 90s of the 19th century, nesting dolls were made in the Moscow workshop, and after its closure, production moved to training and demonstration workshops in Sergiev Posad near Moscow. In fact, Sergiev Posad became the place where the first industrial prototype of the Russian nesting doll was made. This ancient city is located 73 kilometers from Moscow. The city grew up around the famous Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.

There was a market on the huge market square near the monastery. The square was always full of people, and it is not surprising that the first nesting dolls depicted just such a colorful life. Among the first images are young girls dressed in bright sundresses, Old Believers women in conservative clothes, brides and grooms, shepherds with pipes, old men with lush beards. IN early period development of technology in nesting dolls appeared and men's images Same.

Sometimes the nesting doll represented a whole family with numerous children and household members. Some nesting dolls were dedicated historical topics and depicted boyars with their wives, Russian nobles of the 17th century, as well as legendary Russian heroes. Sometimes nesting dolls were dedicated to book characters. For example, in 1909, for the centenary of Gogol, Sergiev Posad released a series of nesting dolls based on Gogol’s works: Taras Bulba, Plyushkin, Governor. In 1912, on the centenary Patriotic War against Napoleon, the nesting dolls depicted Kutuzov and some other commanders. Some nesting dolls were borrowed fairy tales, often themes were taken from folk heroic tales.

The faces of the early nesting dolls of Sergiev Posad were oval, with hard features. Because the top of the dolls was greatly enlarged, the faces dominated the body. The dolls looked primitive and had a strong disproportion, but they were very expressive. During this early period, painting dolls was considered a secondary matter. The skill of the turner, who was able to make workpieces with very thin sides, came first. Professional artists Those who painted the first dolls did it for their own pleasure and did not take their work seriously. That is why the first nesting dolls look very primitive.

A little later, the folk artistic tradition took over. Further development fine style Matryoshka dolls were contributed by icon painters from Sergiev Posad. Icon painters mainly focused on the human figure and his face. This ancient tradition came to ancient Russian art from Byzantium, and the combination of the early type of nesting dolls from Sergiev Posad with the tradition of the local icon painting school is confirmed both stylistically and factually.

Sergiev Posad nesting dolls: from top to bottom - 1990 and 1998.

Matryoshka based on the fairy tale "Ruslan and Lyudmila", Sergiev Posad, 1998.

Initially, the types of nesting dolls were very different and depicted both male and female characters. Gradually female character became dominant.

Semyonovsky style matryoshka

Semenovo is one of the oldest craft centers. The first mention of this village dates back to approximately 1644. There is a legend that the village was founded by the merchant Semyon and the apostate monk from Solovetsky Monastery. In 1779, during the time of Catherine the Great, about 3,000 people worked in Semenovo workshops. Since the village was surrounded by forests, people used the wood to make wood goods for themselves and for sale. Some craftsmen made wooden toys for children, which later became a profitable business.

The first nesting doll in Semenovo was made by Arsenty Mayorov, well known for his wooden utensils, rattles and apples. In 1924, he brought unpainted nesting dolls from a fair in Nizhny Novgorod. His eldest daughter Lyuba painted the blank using a regular quill pen and paints used by Semenovo artists to paint toys. In 1931, an artel was created in the village, which produced souvenirs, including nesting dolls.

Gradually, a unique style of Semenovskaya matryoshka developed, more decorative and symbolic than the style of Sergiev Posad. The Semyonov painting tradition uses aniline dyes; the artists leave a lot of unpainted space, and the dolls are varnished. Technologically, first the outlines of the face are drawn, blush is applied to the cheeks, then the skirt, apron, scarf and hands are drawn.

The apron is considered the main thing in Semenov’s painting. Usually a bright bouquet of flowers is drawn on it.

Semenovsky style

Currently, nesting dolls are produced at the Semenovskaya Painting factory and they continue the old traditions.

Polkhov-Maidan is located 240 kilometers southwest Nizhny Novgorod. The first nesting doll was made here in the 1930s.

Polkhovsky style

Woodworking craftsmanship is an old Polkhov tradition. A wide variety of products were made on lathes: samovars, birds, piggy banks, salt shakers and apples. Artists used aniline dyes. The nesting dolls were primed before painting and then varnished after painting. The color scheme of the Polkhovskaya nesting doll is much brighter and more expressive than that of the Semenovskaya one. Green, blue, yellow, purple and crimson colors are used to contrast each other to make a vibrant and expressive design. Color saturation is achieved by applying one layer of paint to another.

The style of the drawing is primitive and reminiscent of children's drawings. The image is a typical village beauty; knitted eyebrows and a face framed by black curls.

Much more attention is paid to the floral design than to the face. In favor of the ornament, other details of the matryoshka costume are even ignored. At the same time, the main element of the ornament on the apron is a rose, as a symbol of femininity, love and motherhood.

Rose flowers are part of every composition by Polkhov masters.

The history of the Russian nesting doll can be divided into three periods:

• 1) 1890-1930s;
• 2) 1930s - early 1990s;
• 3) early 1990s. until now.

The first period gave the world the Russian nesting doll. Several types of dolls were developed and several styles emerged. The flourishing of art was interrupted by the construction of socialism in the USSR, because the Soviet government paid little attention to the development of handicraft production. The emphasis was placed on industrialization and industrial production; handicraft creativity did not fit into the concept of mass production of goods for the population. Although some types of nesting dolls were still produced.

Private production in the USSR was prohibited - artisans were obliged to work in state factories, make products according to a given template and not show initiative. Factory workers were not allowed to have lathes at home. Private production could be equated to theft of socialist property and was punishable by a fairly long period of detention. The police and government controlled roads and railway stations to prevent the transport of products to other regions for sale. Nevertheless, people produced their own crafts and exported them from to other republics Soviet Union, primarily to the north and Central Asia.

It was easier to work in state factories. At least toys made in state enterprises, were exported to many countries around the world.

Since the early 1990s, artists have been given complete freedom of expression, but the old economic system. At some point, the smart people from the USSR State Planning Committee decided that it would be a good idea to sharply increase the production of nesting dolls so that every person on earth could have at least one doll. So nesting dolls began to be mass produced in Moldova, Ukraine, the Caucasus, Bashkiria, Karelia and many other places. Then no one even thought that woodworking tools were not transmitted along with high level skill. It turned out that the world was flooded with mediocre crafts that have no value. Without native traditions, the nesting doll lost its charm and turned into an ordinary wooden toy, very primitive and simple.

Modern matryoshka

Matryoshka is a doll that looks quite simple, but it has always been best incarnation time. As a form of folk art, the matryoshka has huge potential; she conveys deep meaning events and develops with the times.

IN different time different nesting dolls were created. If the early matryoshka was stylistically primitive, then starting from the 20th century, artists tried to use the surface of the matryoshka to the fullest. Appeared new type nesting dolls, which was a picture within a picture. The basis of the image was still a young girl, only now on her apron they painted not flowers, but scenes from Russian fairy tales and landscapes, as well as historical places.

The complication of traditional matryoshka painting has led to a huge variety of styles and variations. The trend of using decorative elements characteristic of traditional centers Russian folk culture are becoming increasingly popular in the painting of matryoshka dolls of the early 20th century. Dolls painted like Gzhel, Zhostovo, and Khokhloma appear.

The so-called author's nesting doll appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this period, many artists, keeping up with market conditions, began to paint nesting dolls. We can say that perestroika gave the world the new kind art - the author's painting of a Russian nesting doll, which is now part of many Russian and Western art collections.

The “political” nesting doll has gained particular popularity. There is a whole range of dolls depicting Russian tsars, Russian and foreign statesmen and politicians. The grotesque depiction of politicians is an old tradition that dates back a very long time. Almost all politicians the late 1980s and early 1990s are presented in funny cartoons. The image of M. S. Gorbachev, who became a legendary political figure, became especially popular at that time, and his matryoshka incarnation became especially popular in Europe and America.

Matryoshka is huge art event, which requires comprehension. This is like sculpture and painting, the image and soul of Russia.

A story about the history of the origin of the nesting doll for children

Children about a wooden doll - toy

Matryoshka as a symbol of Russian culture

Egorova Galina Vasilievna.
Position and place of work: homeschool teacher, KGBOU "Motyginskaya" comprehensive school- boarding school", Motygino village, Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Description of material: This story briefly outlines the history of the origin of the Russian wooden doll - a toy. This material may be useful and interesting for teachers primary classes, teachers of senior groups of kindergartens. Information about the nesting doll can be used in themed classroom hours.
Target: Forming an idea about the nesting doll through a story.
Tasks:
- educational: tell a short history about the origin of the Russian wooden toy - matryoshka;
- developing: develop attention, memory, imagination, curiosity;
- educational: develop an interest in history vintage toys, to Russian culture.
Content.
Probably in every home you can find everyone’s favorite wooden nesting doll. This is a toy that embodies kindness, prosperity, and family well-being.

The first Russian nesting doll had eight seats: a girl with a black rooster was followed by a boy, then a girl, and so on. All the figures were different from each other. The last, eighth, depicted a baby.

Initially, this doll did not even have a name. But when the turner made it, the artist painted it bright colors, then the name appeared - Matryona. Perhaps this is due to the fact that at various evenings tea was served by servants with that name.
Why was everyone’s favorite Russian toy doll called “matryoshka”? Many believe that this name comes from the female name Matryona, which was very popular in Russia at that time. The name Matryona translated from Latin means “noble woman.” Looking at the nesting doll, the image of a portly noble person really appears.
The matryoshka has won love and recognition as a symbol of Russian folk art.
There is such a belief that if you put a note with a wish inside this wooden doll, it will definitely come true. Matryoshka, from the very beginning of its origin, symbolizes warmth and comfort in the home.
The very idea of ​​​​creating such an unusual doll contains deep philosophical meaning: to find the truth, you need to get to the bottom by opening, one by one, all the parts of the wooden doll. In other words, there are no shortcuts to solving various problems. It takes a lot of effort to achieve a certain result.
Perhaps the idea of ​​a wooden toy, consisting of several figures inserted into one another, was given to the master who created the nesting doll from the content of Russian fairy tales. Let's take the tale of Koshchei, with whom Ivan Tsarevich fights. Let us recall the plot about the search for “Koshchei’s death”: Koschei’s death is hidden far away: on the sea on the ocean, on an island on Buyan there is a green oak tree, 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.

The image of the Russian nesting doll combines the art of masters and endless love for folk culture. These days you can buy all sorts of souvenirs to suit every taste.

But all the same, when we hear “matryoshka”, the image of a cheerful Russian girl in a bright folk costume always appears in our heads. The love for our favorite doll will be passed on, I think, from generation to generation. After all, the history of the origin of the nesting doll is the history of our culture.

History of Matryoshka

This Russian beauty has won the hearts of lovers of folk toys and beautiful souvenirs around the world...

Matryoshka... This Russian beauty has won the hearts of lovers of folk toys and beautiful souvenirs around the world. Now she is not just folk toy, the keeper of the original Russian culture: she is also a souvenir for tourists - a commemorative doll, on the apron of which play scenes, fairy tale plots and landscapes with landmarks are finely drawn; she is also a precious collectible that can cost hundreds of dollars; and they can experiment with her image young artists, having bought special “blanks” - “linen” - in an art salon or from the master turner himself. Matryoshka became the same traditional souvenir Russia and a symbol of its culture, as Dymkovo toys, Zhostovo trays... Matryoshka dolls are not only wooden and inserted into each other - tiny glass painted dolls connected by one thread can be hung on a Christmas tree; We see a lot of keychains, pendants and pendants with figures of “indivisible” nesting dolls on trays in Sergiev Posad - the capital of Russian toys...

The first nesting doll - a chubby and plump cheerful girl in a headscarf and Russian folk dress - was not born in ancient times, as many believe. The prototype for this doll was the figurine of the Buddhist sage Fukuruma, brought to Abramtsevo at the end of the 19th century from the island of Honshu (Japan). The wooden sage had an elongated head and a good-natured face - and inspired by a charming toy (according to legend, such figures were first carved by a Russian monk who lived on the island of Honshu!), in the early 1890s, toy turner Vasily Zvezdochkin carved the first Russian nesting doll. From the walls of the “Children's Education” workshop, founded by philanthropist Savva Mamontov, came a beautiful, rosy-cheeked maiden painted in gouache with a rooster in her hands, which became the first nesting doll made in Russia. The sketch for its painting was created by the artist Sergei Malyutin, who personally painted the matryoshka doll. The first nesting doll was eight-seater - inside the big girl there was a smaller boy, and so on - boys and girls alternated, and the smallest, “indivisible” doll was a swaddled baby.

But where did this name come from - nesting doll? Some historians claim that this name comes from the beloved and common name in Rus' Masha, Manya; others - that this name comes from the female name Matryona (translated from Latin mater - mother), and still others believe that the name "matryoshka" is associated with the name of the Hindu mother goddess Matri... At the end of the 19th century in Russia there was a huge rise in interest in Russian history, folk art, fairy tales, epics and crafts. Matryoshka quickly gained wide popularity and deserved people's love. But she was expensive - and this doll, intended for children, was mainly bought by adult art connoisseurs. Soon after the dolls painted floral patterns, nesting dolls appeared, decorated with picturesque scenes from fairy tales and epics. Such nesting dolls “told” whole stories. In 1900, Russian nesting dolls “reached” Paris - they were exhibited in this city at the World Exhibition, where they received world recognition and a medal. By the way, at the beginning of the twentieth century, some nesting dolls actually “learned” to walk: the legs of such a nesting doll, “shod” in bast shoes, are movable - and it can walk if you put it on inclined plane. Such toys are called “matryoshka-walkers”. 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. From the mid-twentieth century, nesting dolls began not only to be painted, but also to be decorated - with mother-of-pearl plates, straws, and later with rhinestones and beads... But the first dolls did not have these decorations - and a “real”, primordially Russian nesting doll is still considered a wooden painted doll, without inlays and "overlays".

There are several cities and villages in Russia where nesting dolls are traditionally produced - and everywhere these dolls have their own characteristics. Craftsmen from the village of Krutets are experimenting with coloring and even - slightly - with the shape of nesting dolls. In the village of Polkhovsky Maidan, the nesting doll is the breadwinner and support of the entire village: its residents live almost entirely on the income received from the sale of traditional dolls. The nesting dolls from this village are famous for their “rose” designs - the main element of the ornament of these toys is the rose hip flower. Semenov nesting dolls - made in the city of Semenov, Nizhny Novgorod region - are easily recognized by their rather large unpainted surfaces and a lush bouquet of fantastic flowers on the apron. They are distinguished by their “spaciousness” - traditionally such a nesting doll consists of 15-18 dolls, and the most capacious nesting doll in Russia, made in Semenov, is as many as 72 dolls, the largest of which is a full meter in height! The most “northern” one in Russia is the Vyatka nesting doll. And in Sergiev Posad, even members bought the famous bright nesting dolls royal family who came to venerate the shrines of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

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 .