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, A. Mamontova brought from Japan a figurine of a good-natured bald old man, the sage Fukuruma, to the Moscow toy workshop “Childhood Education”. Wood turner Vasily Zvezdochkin, who then worked in this workshop, carved similar figures from wood, which were also nested inside one another, and 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. The image of the girl alternated with the image of the boy, differing from each other. The latter depicted a swaddled baby.
In another version, the toy consisted of: eight dolls depicting girls of different ages, from the oldest (big) girl with a rooster to a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. 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 the dolls at the World Exhibition in Paris, where they earned a bronze medal. Soon matryoshka dolls began to be made in many places in Russia. Also in Semyonov, at the Semyonovskaya Painting art factory, 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
Over the many years of the 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. Over the course of several years, the trunks are weathered and dried in the open air to the desired humidity. Here it is very important not to over-dry or over-dry the log - folk craftsmen know this secret. 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 the bottoms for the nesting dolls into 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 thoroughly 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.
The original subjects of 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 an 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 a distinctive feature of the Semyonovskaya nesting doll). 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, and violet. 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, red-blond hair, and 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
In the Tver matryoshka dolls, historical and fairy-tale characters are often guessed: the 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 the chest, the index finger of the 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 as many as 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,
Foldable and good.
Matryoshka dolls are famous everywhere.
We really like them!

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 the exact date of the 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 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 there are and the better the quality of the matryoshka’s painting, the faster the wish 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 nesting doll - a reminder to descendants of the historical memory of 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 a green oak tree, under that oak tree it is buried an iron chest, 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 integral part of our life

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 more recently, in 2004, it opened its own museum of nesting dolls 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 a 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 the famous Russian Art Nouveau artist Sergei Malyutin and gave him an interesting idea. 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. The image of the colorful toy is deeply symbolic: from the very beginning it became the embodiment of motherhood and fertility.

However, there are many blank spots in this legend. Firstly, the artist Malyutin’s legacy does not contain a sketch of the matryoshka doll. There is no evidence that Malyutin ever made this sketch. Moreover, turner V. Zvezdochkin claimed that it was he who came up with a new toy after seeing a suitable block 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 was released at the end of the 19th century (it is unlikely that it will be possible to establish 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 his eyes constantly open, 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 large 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 is not honored to fulfill the owner’s wish, then on New Year’s Eve 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. Thus, in Rus', “Pysanky” were in circulation - wooden painted 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..."

So much has been written about the Russian nesting doll that you can get confused in all the information. But almost everywhere the same story is mentioned about the history of the creation of the Russian nesting doll. They write that the very first Russian nesting doll was “born” in 1890 in the Abramtsevo estate near Moscow in the applied art workshop “Children’s Names”; this opinion stubbornly wanders from one article to another and has become a kind of myth. Why a myth? Yes, because not everything was as smooth as they write everywhere.

One of the first colorfully illustrated books published in Russia about the Russian nesting doll, its history, and different styles was written by Larisa Solovyova. The book was translated into other languages ​​and was in great demand in the 90s. But we must admit that the book was a purely commercial illustrated album, and not a scientific study. And for a commercial idea, not only the bare essence itself is important, but also some plot, history, fairy tale, legend, myth.

This is a very big and at the same time subtle trick of traders and manufacturers, how to sell something when no one needs this something anymore, then, when the demand is saturated, it is necessary to sell not the product itself, but some illusion, a fiction - it is no longer enough for people to just have a thing , having a utilitarian or aesthetic purpose, they need this thing to serve them as a sign of their specialness, their difference from other people. But let's leave this topic for philosophers and sociologists, let's not deprive them of a piece of bread.

The experience of selling nesting dolls shows that people are much more willing to buy not the matryoshka itself, but the story about this nesting doll. At one time I knew one man (I will not name his name, he is still alive today and may God grant him many years of life) who skillfully told all sorts of stories and tales about all the nesting dolls that he sold. People listened, asked to write it down or tell it again, but he refused to do this - he was a master of impromptu, the second time he could no longer repeat the story he had invented on the fly. He confessed to me that he did not remember these stories and fairy tales and immediately forgot them, as if he had not composed them.

The legend about the creation of the nesting doll looked beautiful, it looked great, but when meticulous researchers began to “unearth” all the subtleties, many things did not fit together. The time when the first Russian nesting doll was carved and painted did not agree, the authorship of the sketch itself, attributed to Sergei Malyutin, did not agree, the authorship of the invention of the very form of the Russian nesting doll did not agree, it, as is known, is attributed to the toy maker Vasily Zvezdochkin. Well, God be with him, with this authorship, let's just say - the author of the nesting doll was the people, like the authorship of many wooden toys. Otherwise, now the descendants of Zvezdochkin and Malyutin will start a copyright lawsuit and demand their share of the sale of each nesting doll, this is a fashionable and profitable business (of course, profitable, and also profitable, especially for lawyers).

And so, the Russian nesting doll arose in Russia at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century and gained great popularity and recognition; many artists and craftsmen began to repeat it, however, inventing their own designs (as they would say now - design solutions). At the same time, wooden toy makers mastered the technology of turning wooden matryoshka blanks. However, for them this was not such a difficult and unusual task, since similar multi-place toys with a connector in the middle and placed inside each other (for example, wooden eggs) had previously been turned by craftsmen; here they only needed to adapt to the new shape, as well as adapt to turning thinner toy walls.

It must be said that the principle and technology of turning matryoshka blanks has remained virtually unchanged since the very times when the first Russian nesting dolls began to be made. The main condition for making nesting dolls is the use of properly prepared and dried wood. The best material for turning nesting dolls is linden, a light and pliable material, but sometimes alder and birch are used, but from these types of wood you can make nesting dolls with a small number of places in the set, since it is more difficult to obtain a thin wall, in addition, nesting dolls from these species are heavy .

Trees for making nesting dolls are cut down in early spring, when sap flow has not yet begun. The logs are cleared of bark, leaving rings in several places in order to prevent the logs from cracking during the drying process. Drying is carried out outdoors, but under a canopy that protects the logs from precipitation and direct sunlight. Such conditions ensure gradual drying of the wood, which lasts 2 years or more - the larger the diameter of the logs, the longer it takes to dry it.

When the log is dried, it is cut into chocks 50 centimeters long. If you need to carve a matryoshka doll with a large diameter, then use the chock as is, and if it is smaller, then the chocks are split into several parts, then they are hewn with axes, trying to give them a round shape. The workpiece is then secured in the lathe. The machines are the simplest, homemade. As a drive I use an electric motor and a belt drive, which transmits rotation to the so-called glass, a hollow steel cylinder into which wooden blanks are driven. The main feature of turning a nesting doll is that the wooden blank is attached not at two points, as is usually done when turning wood products, but at one, in the same glass.

Well, then everything is simple (although this is “simply” mastered over many years, starting from childhood, when they begin to turn relatively simple products like eggs) - first the workpiece is leveled, it is given a strictly round shape. Then, using a triangular cutter, the outer contour of the nesting doll is turned. Then, using a special hook-shaped cutter (“hook”), the inner part is selected. Moreover, first the lower part is turned, and then the upper (head), sequentially, since both parts must be precisely adjusted to each other in order to close tightly. A good master does everything “by eye”, catching tenths of a millimeter, all the nesting dolls turn out even, almost the same size.

Matryoshka doll from the Vyatsky Souvenir factory

Many styles of nesting dolls have been formed in Russia, but real ones, formed not by government decrees on the opening of factories for the production of art products in each republic of the USSR, but naturally there are several. These are primarily the Sergiev Posad matryoshka, Semenovskaya matryoshka, Polkhov-Maidan matryoshka and Kirov (Vyatka) nesting doll. All of them arose in the ancient centers of toy crafts, naturally absorbing the characteristic artistic style of the crafts. You can read more about these nesting dolls and the history of matryoshka crafts on the corresponding pages.

Polkhov-Maidan Matryoshka doll

Soon, nesting dolls began to be made in other centers of wooden crafts, primarily in Semenov near Nizhny Novgorod, and then in Polkhovsky Maidan in the same province, but on its very outskirts, 250 kilometers from the provincial center. Matryoshka dolls in these regions were painted in their characteristic style, a little rustic when compared with the Sergiev Posad doll, but bright and colorful, captivating the child’s eye - after all, it is a toy after all!

Semyonovsky nesting dolls were distinguished by their characteristic elongated shape; it was here that multi-place nesting dolls, consisting of 10, 12, 15 or more dolls, began to be made. Semenov’s nesting dolls are interesting due to their variety of shapes; dolls of a special shape were carved for each character. In both Semenov and Polkhovsky Maidan, aniline dyes, usually used for dyeing fabrics, were used for painting. Therefore, these matryoshka dolls were bright, the colors were saturated, yellow and red tones predominated.

Matryoshka It is considered a traditional Russian souvenir, the most popular among Russians and foreign guests, but not everyone knows the history of the matryoshka doll.

A matryoshka appeared in1890 year. Its prototype was a chiseled figurine of the Buddhist saint Fukurum, which was brought from the island of Honshu to the Abramtsevo estate near Moscow. The figurine depicted a sage with his head stretched out from long thoughts; it turned out to be detachable, and a smaller figurine was hidden inside, which also consisted of two halves. There were five such dolls in total.

Turner Vasily Zvezdochkin carved the figures in the image of this toy, and artist Sergei Malyutin painted them. He depicted on the figures a girl in a sundress and a scarf with a black rooster in her hands. The toy consisted of eight figures. A boy followed the girl, then a girl again, etc. All of them were somehow different from each other, and the last, eighth, depicted a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. A common name at that time was the name Matryona - and that’s how everyone’s favorite Matryoshka appeared.

The appearance of the nesting doll in Russia at the very end of the last century was not accidental. It was during this period that the Russian artistic intelligentsia began to seriously engage in collecting works of folk art, and also tried to creatively comprehend national artistic traditions. In addition to zemstvo institutions, private art circles and workshops were organized at the expense of patrons, in which craftsmen were trained under the guidance of professional artists and household items and toys were created in the Russian style. The interest in the nesting doll is explained not only by the originality of its shape and the decorativeness of the painting, but also, probably, by a kind of tribute to the fashion for everything Russian, which spread at the beginning of the 20th century thanks to the “Russian seasons” of S.P. Diaghilev in Paris.

The annual fairs in Leipzig also contributed to the massive export of nesting dolls. WITH1909 year, the Russian nesting doll also became a permanent participant in the Berlin exhibition and the annual handicraft market, held at the beginning of the 20th century in London. Thanks to a traveling exhibition organized by the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade, residents of the coastal cities of Greece, Turkey and the countries of the Middle East became acquainted with the Russian nesting doll.

The painting of nesting dolls became more and more colorful and varied. They depicted girls in sundresses, scarves, with baskets, bundles, and bouquets of flowers. Matryoshka dolls appeared depicting shepherds with a pipe, and bearded old men with a large stick, a groom with a mustache and a bride in a wedding dress. The imagination of the artists did not limit itself to anything. The nesting dolls were arranged in such a way as to meet their main purpose - to present a surprise. Thus, relatives were placed inside the “Bride and Groom” doll. Matryoshka dolls could be dedicated to certain family dates. In addition to family themes, there were nesting dolls designed for a certain level of erudition and education.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the general passion for Russian history, encouraged by the Moscow provincial zemstvo, had a great influence on the topic. Between1900 By1910 year, a series of nesting dolls appeared depicting ancient Russian knights and boyars, both of which were sometimes carved in a helmet-like shape. In honor of the centenary of the Patriotic War in1912 year, "Kutuzov" and "Napoleon" with their headquarters were manufactured. The beloved national hero Stepan Razin, his closest associates and the Persian princess were not ignored.

Literary works of Russian classics were also used as subjects for painting nesting dolls: “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” by A.S. Pushkin, "The Little Humpbacked Horse" by P.P. Ershov, fable "Quartet" by I.A. Krylova and others.

100 -year anniversary of N.V. Gogol in1909 year was marked by the appearance of a series of nesting dolls depicting the heroes of his works. Ethnographic images were often created based on sketches by professional artists and reliably reflected the characteristic features and details of traditional clothing of the Baltic states, the Far North and other regions.

Nowadays, nesting dolls are created by folk craftsmen from different regions of Russia. They differ in the proportions of the turning form, the painting, which is aimed at demonstrating the features of national women's clothing, the characteristic color and details of the costume.

History of Matryoshka began when, in the nineties of the 19th century, his wife brought from Japan a figurine of a good-natured bald old man, the sage Fukuruma, to Mamontov’s Moscow toy workshop “Children’s Education”. It is believed that this particular toy served as the prototype of the modern matryoshka doll.

In general, Japan is a country of many gods and each of them is responsible for something: either for the harvest, or helps the righteous, or is the patron of happiness and art. That detachable figurine of the old sage contained four more figurines of his famous students.

Entire sets of god figures were popular in Japan at that time. Fukuruma, the bald old man was responsible for happiness, prosperity and wisdom.
If you try to trace it further, the roots from Japan will go to China, to India, where detachable, hollow dolls were also popular. Carved bone balls have long existed in China.

The creators of the first nesting doll are Vasily Petrovich Zvezdochkin and Sergei Vasilyevich Malyutin. Zvezdochkin then worked in Mamontov’s workshop “Children’s Education” and carved similar figures from wood that were nested one inside the other, and the artist Sergei Malyutin, a future academician of painting, 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. The image of the girl alternated with the image of the boy, differing from each other. The last one depicted a swaddled baby. It was painted with gouache.
This first nesting doll is now in the Toy Museum in Sergiev Posad.

There are many versions of why the name for this toy was chosen Matryona - the most common one - that it was the most common name then. It is also based on the Latin word “mater”, which means “mother”. This name was associated with the mother of a huge family, with good health and a portly figure, and was perfect for the new Russian wooden doll. They also say that at the Abramtsevo evenings held at Mamontov’s estate, tea was served by a servant with that name.

In fact, the matryoshka doll as a toy and phenomenon appeared in Russia not by chance. It was during this period of time at the end of the 19th-20th that among the Russian artistic intelligentsia they not only began to seriously engage in collecting works of folk art, but also tried to creatively comprehend the rich experience of national artistic traditions. At the expense of patrons, art workshops and various circles were created; various household items and toys in the Russian style were in fashion; it is believed that the fashion for “everything Russian” at the beginning of the 20th century appeared largely thanks to the “Russian seasons” of S.P. Diaghilev in Paris.
In 1900 1980s, the “Children’s Education” workshop was closed, but the production of nesting dolls began to continue in Sergiev Posad, which 70 kilometers north of Moscow, in a training and demonstration workshop.
Sergiev Posad is a very old center specializing in the production of wooden toys, it is often even called the “toy capital”. Back in the 15th century, at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery there were special workshops in which monks were engaged in three-dimensional and relief wood carving.
Most likely, mass production of nesting dolls in Sergiev Posad began after the World Exhibition in Paris 1900 year, after the successful debut in Europe of a new Russian toy. The annual fairs in Leipzig also contributed to the popularity of the nesting doll, and with 1909 The annual Berlin Handicraft Market, held at the beginning of the 20th century in London. Later, the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade created a traveling exhibition and introduced the Russian nesting doll to Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.

IN1911 year, a Japanese fake was even brought from the Leipzig fair, which was an exact copySergievskaya matryoshka doll , differing from her only in facial features and the lack of varnish. IN 1904 The Sergiev Posad workshop received an official order from Paris for the production of a large batch of nesting dolls. The interest in the nesting doll is explained not only by the originality of its shape and the decorativeness of the painting, but also, probably, by a kind of tribute to fashion. The demand for nesting dolls increased every year. In the same year, the “Russian Handicraftsmen” partnership opened its permanent store in Paris, in which products of Nizhny Novgorod craftsmen (produced in the city of Semenov and Semenovsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod province) were widely represented - spoons, furniture, dishes with Khokhloma painting, toys. This year, the first order for the supply of a wooden matryoshka doll was made abroad.

Now there are many types of nesting dolls, the most popular are Maidanovsky (from Polkhov Maidan) and Semyonovsky nesting dolls.

At first1990 1980s, matryoshka painting began to be done not only in traditional areas, but also in large cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, and individual tourist centers. The basis is most often taken on the form and style characteristic of the Sergiev Posad matryoshka doll, so now at matryoshka bazaars you can find products from Muscovites and St. Petersburg that are very reminiscent of the Sergiev Posad dolls.
Despite the diversity of today’s assortment, it is already possible to identify a certain trend in the formation of the “matryoshka” style 1990 -'s." It is characterized by the elaboration of the costume in emphatically Russian traditions with scarves and shawls based on the famous Pavlovsky ones.

Currently, on trays you can find not only nesting dolls painted in the traditional style, but also very popular, the so-called designer nesting dolls , made by an individual artist, a professional. The price of such a toy depends on both the fame of the author and the quality of the work. Now you can find nesting dolls that were made in a single copy, some may even be copies of famous paintings by artists such as Vasnetsov, Kustodiev, Bryullov, etc.

Types of nesting dolls:

Sergievskaya matryoshka - this is a chubby girl in a scarf and sundress with an apron, bright painting using3-4 colors (red or orange, yellow, green and blue). The lines of the face and clothing are outlined in black. After renaming Sergiev Posad to Zagorsk, in1930 year, this type of painting began to be called Zagorsk.

Now there are many types of nesting dolls - Semenovskaya, Merinovskaya, Polkhovskaya, Vyatskaya. The most popular are considered Maidanovskie(from Polkhov Maidan) and Semenov nesting dolls .

Polkhovsky Maidan - the most famous center for making and painting nesting dolls , located in the southwest of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The main element of the Polkhov-Maidan matryoshka doll is a multi-petal rose hip flower (“rose”), next to which there may be half-open buds on the branches. The painting is applied along a previously drawn outline made with ink. Painting is done using a primer with starch, after which the products are coated with transparent varnish twice or three times.

For Semyonovskaya matryoshka characterized by bright colors, mainly yellow and red. The scarf is usually painted with polka dots. The first matryoshka artel in Semenovo was organized in 1929 year, it united the toy makers of Semenov and nearby villages, although the city itself is famous mainly for Khokhloma painting and toy making was a side craft for Semenov craftsmen.

Vyatka matryoshka - the most northern of all Russian nesting dolls. Vyatka has long been famous for products made from birch bark and bast - boxes, baskets, tues - in which, in addition to skillful weaving techniques, embossed patterns were also used. The Vyatka painted wooden doll received special originality in60 s, when they began to not only paint the nesting dolls with aniline paints, but also inlay them with straws, this became a kind of innovation in the design of nesting dolls. For inlay, they used rye straw, which was grown in special areas and carefully cut by hand with sickles.

Matryoshka dolls - production technology

First you need to choose a tree. As a rule, these are linden, birch, aspen, and larch. The tree must be cut down in early spring or winter so that there is little sap in it. And it should be smooth, without knots. The trunk is processed and stored so that the wood is blown. It is important not to dry out the log. Drying time is approximately two to three years. The masters say that the tree should ring.

The smallest nesting doll that does not open is the first to be born. Following it is the lower part (bottom) for the next one. The first nesting dolls were six-seater - eight-seater, maximum, and in recent years they have appeared35 -those locals, even70 - local, nesting dolls (in Tokyo, a seventy-seater Semyonov matryoshka, one meter tall, was demonstrated). The upper part of the second nesting doll is not dried, but is immediately put on the bottom. Due to the fact that the upper part is dried in place, the parts of the nesting doll fit tightly to each other and hold well.
When the body of the nesting doll is ready, it is sanded and primed. And then begins the process that gives each nesting doll its own individuality - painting. First, the base of the drawing is applied with a pencil. Sometimes the drawing is burned out and then tinted with watercolors.

Then the contours of the mouth, eyes, and cheeks are outlined. 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. The masters of the Polkhovsky Maidan, like their Merinovsky and Semenovsky neighbors, paint the nesting dolls with aniline paints on a previously primed surface. Dyes are diluted with an alcohol solution. The painting of Sergiev's nesting dolls is done without preliminary drawing with gouache and only occasionally with watercolor and tempera, and the intensity of the color is achieved with the help of varnishing.

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 matryoshka should be beautiful. The first nesting dolls were covered with wax, and they began to be coated with varnish when they became a children's toy. The varnish protected the paint, prevented them from deteriorating or chipping so quickly, and retained the color longer. The most interesting thing is that in the first nesting dolls the contours of the face and costume were burned out. And even if the paint peeled off, what was done by burning remained for a long time.

The Russian nesting doll is a real wonder of the world. The present, because it was and remains the creation of human hands. A miracle of the world - because in an amazing way the toy symbol of Russia moves around the world, not recognizing any distances, borders, or political regimes.

A matryoshka is a wooden, brightly painted doll, hollow inside, in the form of a semi-oval figure, into which other similar dolls of a smaller size are inserted.
(Dictionary of the Russian language. S.I. Ozhegov)

It is believed that the Russian nesting doll was carved according to a model brought from Japan. According to some reports, nesting dolls appeared in Russia only after the Russo-Japanese War and the return of prisoners of war from Japan to Russia.

Japan is a land of many gods. Each of them was responsible for something: either for the harvest, or helped the righteous, or was the patron of the happiness of art. Japanese gods are varied and multifaceted: cheerful, angry, wise... Yogis believed that a person has several bodies, each of which was patronized by a god. Entire sets of god figures were popular in Japan. And then at the end of the 19th century, someone decided to place several figures one inside the other. The first such fun was the figurine of the Buddhist sage Fukuruma, a good-natured bald old man who was responsible for happiness, prosperity and wisdom.

It turns out that the cloning method was well known at the end of the 19th century. Judge for yourself. Japanese dad Fukurumu became the founder... Mom was not there. Cloning took place in 1890 at Mamontov’s estate in Abramtsevo, near Moscow. The owner of the estate brought a funny god from Japan. The toy had a secret: his whole family was hiding in the old man Fukurumu. One Wednesday, when the artistic elite came to the estate, the hostess showed everyone a funny figurine.

Portrait of Savva Mamontov

Self-portrait of Sergei Malyutin

Vasily Zvezdochkin.

The first Russian nesting doll - Girl with a rooster

The detachable toy interested the artist Sergei Malyutin, and he decided to make something similar. He, of course, did not repeat the Japanese deity; he made a sketch of a round-faced peasant young lady in a colorful headscarf. And to make her look more businesslike, he drew a black rooster in her hand. The next young lady had a sickle in her hand. Another one with a loaf of bread. How could the sisters be without a brother - and he appeared in a painted shirt. A whole family, friendly and hardworking.

He ordered the best turner of the Sergiev Posad educational and demonstration workshops, V. Zvezdochkin, to make his incredible work.

The first nesting doll is now kept by the Toy Museum in Sergiev Posad. Painted with gouache, it doesn’t look very festive.
Here we are all matryoshka, yes 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.

The new toy instantly became popular. In the same year that this doll was born, the Russian consul reported that in Germany the Nuremberg company “Albert Gerch” and turner Johann Wilde began to counterfeit the Russian nesting doll. The same news came from France. But, as time has shown, these toys did not take root there.

The worldwide triumph of the nesting doll took place at an exhibition in Paris in 1900. In 1911, orders for the toy came from 14 countries around the world.

Woman with a knot (matryoshka 10-seater),

The matryoshka appeared in Sergiev Posad at the beginning of the 20th century. Hereditary master of painting S.A. Ryabyshkin recalled how his father brought a matryoshka doll from Moscow in 1902 and all the neighbors went to look at it, they were surprised and admired the extraordinary doll. It should be noted that in those days the nesting doll was very expensive; according to N.D. Bartram, the cost of the toy reached 10 rubles per piece, which was a lot of money back then. Subsequently, many icon painters began painting nesting dolls, among them A.I. Sorokin, D.N. Pichugin, A.I. Tokarev, as well as the workshops of R.S. Busygin, brothers V.S. and P.S. Ivanov and others. Old nesting dolls were distinguished by their nobility and warmth of color; they used picturesque effects of icon painting: “poke” painting, “contour”, and careful drawing of the face. Blanks for painting were supplied to the village from Babenki, Podolsk district, where commercial weaving of nesting dolls was first established. Podolsk masters had no equal in the art of turning.

Boyars
(matryoshka 12-seater),

Woman with folded hands
(matryoshka 10-seater),
Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

In 1891, in Sergiev Posad, on the initiative of the zemstvo, an educational and demonstration toy workshop was opened, the head of which was Vladimir Ivanovich Borutsky; on its basis, in 1913, a handicraft-industrial artel of toy makers was organized, which after the revolution began to be called the artel named after the Red Army, and then in 1928 year it was transformed into a toy factory (now toy factory No. 1). There they began to make nesting dolls after the closure of the “Children’s Education” workshop in Moscow. In 1905, V.I. Borutsky invited turner V.P. Zvezdochkin to the Sergiev workshop, who trained hundreds of students. In the 30s, Podolsk turners Romakhins, Kuznetsovs, Berezins, Belousovs, Nefedovs, Novizentsevs came to Zagorsk (as Sergiev Posad was renamed in 1930). Masters S.F.Nefedov, D.I.Novizentsev, V.N.Kozhevnikov still remain the best manufacturers of nesting dolls.

Auditor
(to the centenary of N.V. Gogol),

Taras Bulba
(to the centenary of N.V. Gogol),
artist N. Bartram, Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

Stepan Razin,
master Busygin,
workshop of Moscow province. Zemstvo, Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

The matryoshka was in great demand not only in Russia, but also abroad. After the World Exhibition in Paris (1900), the zemstvo workshop received orders for it, every year the toy appeared at the fair in Leipzig, it even got to the point that foreigners began to counterfeit the nesting doll, which was reported to St. Petersburg from Germany by the Russian consul in 1908 ( The Nuremberg company "Albert Lerch" was engaged in this).

Gradually, the range of nesting dolls in Sergiev Posad expanded. In addition to the nesting dolls depicting girls in sundresses and scarves with baskets, knots, sickles, bouquets of flowers, sheaves, they began to make girls in a sheepskin coat with a shawl on their heads and felt boots in their hands, a shepherdess with a pipe, an old man with a thick beard and a large stick, an Old Believer in a black sundress with rosaries, the bride and groom with candles in their hands, relatives were placed inside.

Kutuzov with his staff
(matryoshka 8-seater)
to the centenary of the Patriotic War of 1812, master I. Prokhorov,
Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

Napoleon
(matryoshka 8-seater)
to the centenary of the Patriotic War of 1812,

A large series of boyars was produced. In 1909, for the centenary of the birth of N.V. Gogol, matryoshka dolls Taras Bulba, Gorodnichy were made, in which Anna Andreevna, Khlestakov, a judge, a postmaster and other characters from the comedy “The Inspector General” were placed. In 1912, for the 100th anniversary of the Patriotic War with the French, eight-seater nesting dolls depicting Kutuzov and Napoleon were released, inside which members of their headquarters were placed. The craftsmen made nesting dolls on the themes of fairy tales and fables: “Turnip”, “Quartet”, “Golden Fish”, “The Little Humpbacked Horse”, “Ivan the Tsarevich”, “Firebird”. They also 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, but these toys did not find demand, their production ceased. Until now, nesting dolls of traditional shape are produced. It should be noted that not all wooden figures are called nesting dolls, but only those that are nested inside each other.

Baltic peoples
(matryoshka dolls 8- and 12-seater),
master D. Pichugin, Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

Sagittarius tumbler,
Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

In 1911, the Sergiev Zemstvo educational and demonstration workshop produced twenty-one types of 2-24-seater nesting dolls. The most popular were 3-, 8- and 12-seater. In 1913, for a toy exhibition in St. Petersburg, a 48-seater nesting doll was turned by Babensky turner N. Bulychev.

In the twenties of the last century, the production of nesting dolls was established in the Nizhny Novgorod province (now the Gorky region) in the city of Semenov, the village of Merinovo, and the village of Polkhov-Maidan. Master A.F. Mayorov (1885-1937) brought a matryoshka doll from Sergiev Posad, liked the toy, they began making their own nesting dolls: they painted them on starch soil, the drawing with a pen was colored with aniline paints.

Family
(matryoshka 10-seater),
Workshop of Moscow province. zemstvos,
Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

The Semenovskaya nesting doll is more slender and elongated; instead of a sundress and an apron, flowers are depicted on the doll. Zagorskaya (Sergievskaya - in 1991 Zagorsk was given back its old name - Sergiev Posad) matryoshka was painted with gouache, sometimes varnished.

In 1918, the Toy Museum was created in Moscow, where a workshop was opened in which toys were made. In 1931, the Toy Museum moved to Zagorsk.

The hero and the girl
(matryoshka dolls 6-seater)
in the form of an ancient Russian helmet,
master I. Prokhorov, Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

turnip
(matryoshka 8-seater)
based on the fairy tale of the same name,
master Sharpanov, Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

In 1932, the world's first scientific and experimental toy institute was opened in Zagorsk; among numerous samples of various toys, a 42-seat nesting doll was carved for the 42nd year of Soviet power. With the assistance of the Toy Institute, the production of nesting dolls spread to many regions of the USSR. In each region, the matryoshka had its own appearance, so the Kirov matryoshka was finished with straw, the matryoshka from Ufa (the Agidel enterprise) retained the Bashkir national flavor.

Swan Princess
(matryoshka cone-shaped
with illustrations to A.S. Pushkin’s fairy tale “Tsar Saltan”),
Sergiev Posad, early 20th century

Little Humpbacked Horse
(12-seater nesting doll based on the fairy tale of the same name by P.P. Ershov),
Sergiev Posad, early 20th century