History Matryoshka

The nesting doll – Matryoshka is the most famous Russian toy, a symbol of Russia, and considered to be one of the phenomenons in the world folk art.

It is hard to imagine now that only about one hundred years ago Matryoshka has not existed at all. The first one appeared only at the end of the 19th century when a new artistic trend known as ‘Russian style’ appeared. The legendary Matrioshka was 1st made in the workshop ’Children’s Education’

Where do we get the word “Matryoshka”
The word “Matryoshka” it comes from one of the more common names for female women in Russia. Provincial (village) Russians often called their ladies “Matryona” or “Matryoshka.” This name was derived from the Latin “ma-ter,” which means, of course, “mother.” The name was associated with the image of a strong, healthy, woman of a big family. Today, the name has become the symbol of motherhood and fertility. The dolls which nestle inside one another and have been beautifully hand-crafted and hand-painted and could represent the family. Subsequently, it became a symbolic name and was used specially to describe brightly painted wooden dolls made in such a way that they could be taken apart to reveal smaller dolls fitting inside one another.

Even now nesting doll is considered to be a symbol of motherhood and fertility. A mother doll with numerous dolls-children perfectly expresses the oldest symbol of human culture.

Confusion About the Name
One of the most widely spread errors in this area is the usage of the word “babushka” to designate a nesting doll. Linguistically this word is linked to the proper name (“matryoshka”) by sound-proximity of the distortion “matryushka” to the word “babushka”. This misleading link is further strengthened by the meaning of the word “babushka”. In Russian language the word means “grandmother” and many, by association, believe that “babushka” stands for a “little grandmother doll”.

Nesting Doll Making
The basic technique of nesting doll making remains unchanged. As a rule nesting dolls are made from lime, birch, alder and aspen. Lime is the most abundant material. The trees chosen to make the nesting dolls are cut down at the beginning of Spring, usually in April when the trees are full of sap. The felled trees are stripped of their bark leaving a few rings to prevent the wood from cracking. The logs prepared in this way with their butt-ends smeared over are arranged in piles with a clearance between them to allow aeration.

The logs are kept in the open air for two years. Only an experienced master can tell when the material is ready. Then the logs are cut into workpieces for nesting dolls. Every workpiece can be turned as many as 15 times before the nesting doll will be ready. Making a doll on a turning lathe requires high skills, an ability to work with a beguilingly small set of tools – a knife and chisels of various length and shape. The smallest figurine which cannot be taken apart is usually made first. The bottom part of the next figurine which can be taken apart is turned first. Then a workpiece is turned to reach the necessary size and the top end is removed. Then the ring is made to fit on the upper part of the nesting doll and then its lower part can be made. Then the nesting doll’s head is turned and the necessary amount of wood is removed from within the nesting doll’s head to slip on the upper ring. All these operations do not involve any measurements, and rely only on intuition and require high professional skills. The upper part of the nesting doll is stuck on to its lower part. Then it dries and tightens the ring so it sits securely in place. When the turning work is over, a snow white doll is thoroughly cleaned, primed with starchy glue to make the surface ideally smooth and to prevent the paint making smudges and then dried. Now it is ready to be painted.