Matryoshka dolls from Russia
By Shirish Joshi

NESTING or Matryoshka dolls (pronounced matr-yosh-ka) are dolls within dolls. Some models consist of as many as 20 dolls. The smallest may be dolls the size of a match head, but sometimes inside that match head size doll, there might be yet another smaller doll.

It is said that nesting dolls originated in China or Japan, but their first appearance in Russia was not until the late 19th century, when Savva Mamontov, an industrialist and patron of arts was presented one from China or Japan. This chance occurrence led Russia to become eminent in the design and manufacture of nesting dolls.

Matryoshka dolls were on display at the Leipzig World Fair in Germany, where they enjoyed wide popularity. The market soon broadened to other European countries as well as to the Middle East. The world came to think of the nesting doll as being uniquely Russian and all others as being imitations only.

The outer of the early doll-sets portrayed a sturdy Russian woman, commonly viewed as the source of all Russian life. Within this doll were her children — the fruits of her family. The attire of the mother doll was Sarafan, a Russian national dress, with an apron, and a brightly coloured headscarf.

Within the mother doll were as many as seven more dolls, with the smallest being a baby doll in diapers. The Russian word applied to this sturdy woman, who represented a mother is Matryona, it is derived from the Russian word Mat which mean mother. This in turn is derived from the Lain word, Mater, which also means mother. Its similarity with Sanskrit Matru, which also means mother is obvious.

It is said that Sanskrit, like Russian and some other languages spoken in Europe, is derived from the same parent language — Indo-European. Matryoshka is the diminutive of Matryona and is translated as ‘Little mother’. Russians call nesting dolls as Matryoskha dolls.

Nesting dolls were originally manufactured in Moscow. A nearby town, Sergiev Posad, named for its patron saint, Saint Sergei, had a flourishing wooden toy making industry, which had existed for the last several centuries. The proximity of Sergiev Posad to Moscow and the large number of tourists visiting the town helped the industry to flourish.

Communist authorities changed the town’s name to Zagorsk, but with the collapse of Soviet Union, the town revived its old name once again. Russian artistic creativity now released from the stifling oppression of communism and supported by a demand of a growing foreign market is producing a breathtaking array of beautiful dolls.

Most of the nesting dolls sold the world over today come from Soviet Posad. However, many other new centres like Semyonov and Vyatka have come up now. Each centre has its own style of doll. It is possible to identify the place where a nesting doll is made, by its style.

After a while, the subject of nesting dolls expanded beyond simple matryonas. A well known early subject was Napoleon of France and Kuznetsov, who defended Moscow against Napoleon. Today even failed Russian leaders like Gorbachev form the subject of these dolls.

Even Presidents of the US and other leaders of the world are not spared. Instead of being simply painted figures, the nesting dolls are now exquisitely painted works of art with immense detail.

The making of nesting dolls begins several years before they are turned on a wood lathe when the trees are selected and cut. Usually birch trees are selected. They are cut in early spring when the sap is out of the wood. The bark is then peeled.

The logs are stacked to permit free air circulation while they are drying. This process goes on for several years. Only when the chief doll-maker decided that the logs are dry enough, they are taken up for further working.

The first doll to be turned is the very smallest. In turning the doll sets, the carpenter makes sure that each doll in the set is big enough to accommodate the next smaller doll and, yet, small enough to permit the required number of pieces in the set. It is said that the turning work is by eye without making measurements.

In other words, each doll must fit snugly inside the next larger but must allow it to open or close easily. The carpenter polishes the dolls with sandpaper and puts on a powder to fill the fine pores. The doll is then ready for painting.

The artist then paints them with a certain these, like characters from a Russian fairy tale or Russian monarchs. Often dolls are adorned with gold leaf. Sometimes the dolls have a natural wood finish and the design is burned into them with a hot needle. Some of them are carved as well as painted. Once painted they are usually covered with a protective lacquer.

The first picture shows the expertise of the carpenter. This is an eggshell-thin 20-piece doll. It has an overall height of about 9 cm. The girl holds painted trays. The second picture the onion or garlic-domed churches in Russia. This 10-piece doll has a height of about 20-cm. The third picture shows a unique Santa Claus with his fluffy beard, eyebrows. Six inner dolls are green-eyed snow maidens. The height is about 12 cm. All these are made at Sergiev Posad.

A doll is a child’s toy modelled in human or animal form. It is perhaps the oldest plaything. Some ancient dolls had religious meaning. Some historians feel that the religious dolls preceded the toy doll. In India, elaborately dressed dolls were given to child brides by their parents.

A visit to Moscow is not complete without a visit to the museum of Matryoshka dolls. It is in ideal memento to be brought home. They can also be seen in the Doll’s Museum at New Delhi.