Nesting Dolls: Made In Russia

The art of carving matryoshka or nesting dolls, though Japanese in origin, is surprisingly synonymous with the Russians. Attempts to paint collapsible dolls were made in Germany, France, and Japan before and after the nesting dolls were made famous by Russia. The Chinese didnt lag behind in their venture of making indigenous folk lore depicting nesting dolls, but they never got near the craftsmanship of the Russians who mastered this art, in spite of the Chinese producing the exact costume detail and painting methods. However, the lack of Russian feel would instantly reveal itself, foreign dolls failing to win recognition.

In the 1960's the town of Vyatka, Kirov was made famous by their produce, the nesting dolls, and so was Semyonovo. The end of the 19th century and the mid 50's brought with it a real Russian nesting doll boom. To satisfy the unexpected demand, new manufacturers emerged on the market. Then there came the Sergiev Posad dolls, which are wider and smaller than the Semenov-turned ones, but more impressive. In less than a few years, almost the whole city of Sergiev Posad was painting nesting dolls as it had both multitudes of experienced wood turners and were surrounded by excellent raw material, birch and lime trees. They were painted upon by family cartels, where even children and old people involved with equal passion. The demand for them kept growing and once the potential of this business turned out to be so profitable a number of doll manufacturers appeared and soon after, mass export began. The largest manufacturers were based in the city of Semenov of Nizhniy Novgorod province and in the village of Polkhov-Maidan.

In the more recent years, it is not unusual to find them of various unusual shapes - ball or cone-shaped, in forms of boxes and bottle-holders, figurines imitating the peasant woman still remain the most popular ones. And though the demand and supply of such dolls has increased worldwide, and with nesting dolls in great demand in America as much as any other European country, it is not unusual to see some of the best nesting dolls made in Russia, being sold in the American market.

Though the process of making a them has changed little through the last century, the volume of produce is indeed large compared to older days. The best available material for the nesting dolls is linden also called lime, as it is sought after for its soft nature and its ease to work on. The linden trees are cut in April, which is then freed off the bark, and the ends covered with the clay to avoid flaws. The blanks are patiently aged in the open air for two long years for the wood to dry to the core, before being put through the turner. It is a short story told step by step, from the bigger doll to the smaller, with an intimacy and romance so peculiarly Russian.

The first Russian nesting doll depicted a group of eight children of different ages, from the outmost doll depicting the eldest girl holding a rooster to the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. The first Russian nesting dolls were manufactured by the Children Education cartel and in spite of them being made for the children and being a bit pricey, they enjoyed quite a bit of popularity among adults as much as among children.