The History of the Nesting Doll

 Matryoshka, stacking doll, matroishka, matreshka, or Russian nesting doll, as they are know around the world as, is one of the most popular and endearing examples of Russian folk art. If you go to Russia nowadays this is the souvenir you will see sold everywhere. They are fashioned entirely of natural products, each doll is hand painted and therefore completely unique. The attention to detail and creative skill of the matryoshka artists will amaze you. Dolls can range in size from large, 15" masterpieces, containing 40 or more successively with smaller versions within, to tiny creations that require a magnifying glass to paint them and just to see them. They range in price depending on their size from 3 - 40 pieces in a set and their complexity can take from 5 days to 18 months of work. Origins of the matryoshka doll are still unclear today. It is believed that they first appeared some 100 years ago and were modeled after a wooden doll brought to Russia from the island of Honshu in Japan. Interestingly, the Japanese claim their dolls were inspired by the work of a Russian monk. This monk created a wooden figure depicting a good-natured, bald old man thought to represent a Buddhist sage. This first prototype still exists and can be seen in the Museum of Toys in Sergiev Posad, Russia. In Russian, the word Matryoshka is associated with fertility and motherhood. It's not surprising then that many of the first Matryoshka dolls utilized the image of a portly, chubby checked mother on the outside doll with the likenesses of her numerous children painted on the smaller, nested inner dolls. Even today, when artists are painting a variety of subjects, the image of the robust and cheerful mother is still one of the most popular. Depending of the author's imagination the themes can be anything from the wonderful creative Russian fairy tales, Russian churches and architecture of the Russian cities and towns, traditional scenes from Russian life and so on.

 The artists use various methods of decorating these dolls; from poker-work, to watercolor, to painting with different mediums. The wood that is used for these dolls is normally birch, but sometimes lime or other special wood, each doll is turned by hand which, in itself, is a difficult task. The Matryoshka have to be made out of the same piece of wood to ensure that the wood reacts in the same way to changing temperatures and climate conditions. That fact imposes severe restrictions on the artist. In other words, the artist assumes complete responsibility over every part of the process. By making one mistake, the artist is risking to ruin the whole set even if it is almost finished, which could mean loosing months and months of work! All the operations do not involve any measurement and rely on intuition and require great skill from the master turner on a lathe. After the turning work on a lathe is done the dolls are cleaned, primed with a starchy glue to make its surface smooth, polished and now are ready for painting. This is when the painter comes into play and can take weeks or months to complete a set of dolls. After having been hand-painted they are dried for several days. Then the dolls are ready for the lacquer to be applied. Many different coats are needed to give the doll the brilliant shine. Some of the dolls are covered with 6 or 7 layers of lacquer for that somooth shiny finish.

The first dolls were made in the town Sergiev-Posad, formerly Zagorsk, which is not far from Moscow. There is a museum showing the very early examples of Matryoshka. There are a number of villages around Sergiev-Posad which make the Matryoshka, like Maiden, Kirov, Brest, and Semionov and this art form has been passed down through generations there.

In today's world of mass-produced products, it's easy to see why Matryoshka dolls or nesting dolls are so popular. To hold one in your hands, admire its fantastic workmanship and feel the anticipation and excitement of discovering smaller and smaller dolls hidden one inside the other, is like nothing else you've ever experienced. This is why when I open a doll I don't like to know how many there is in it. When you own a Russian Matryoshka, you own not only a piece of Russian history, but a bit of its childlike wonder and magic as well. It can make adults act like children again if for only a moment.

Today, there are many types of Matryoshka produced. In a way, it is unfortunate that, due to its popularity, the Russian Matryoshka has become a victim of its own success and there are many cheap versions of this art now flooding the market. There are also some great artist producing some fabulous art also which could be found in your home on the mantle.  So take your time and come in and enjoy these great pieces of Russian art.

 How to say "Matryoshka"

These beautiful dolls are known in America as "nesting" dolls, and "stacking" dolls. One sometimes hears a non russian attempt at pronouncing the Russian word for the dolls as "Matrooshka." This is a close representation, but not quite accurate. The actual pronunciation is closer to "MatrYOshka," with a hard "O" and an emphasis on that second syllable (as the "o" in "OH Boy" is pronounced, not an "oooo" as in "shoe"). So, "ma-TRYOSH-ka" is the proper pronunciation for a single doll, and "ma-TRYOSH-kee" for two or more dolls (the plural). Better still if you can roll the "r" (as in Spanish) as you pronounce "ma-TRYOSH-ka." Have fun pronouncing it, and don't worry if you have trouble with it--just use any of the terms for the dolls and people who collect these dolls will understand what it is you would like.

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.