Matrioshka's Beginnings

 Somerville, Mass - I'm still hard at work writing about Moscow. This week I was writing about shopping and where to get the best Moscow souvenirs. This is an excerpt from the Moscow City Guide.

Rare is the tourist that leaves Russia without a matryoshka. The hand-painted wooden nesting doll which so symbolises Russia is not, as you might imagine, an ancient handcraft developed and perfected by generations of peasant families. Rather, the concept was adapted from a traditional Japanese toy. 

In the 19th century, Russian artists were eager to embrace cultural styles that would unite traditional and modern elements, and contribute to the growing sense of national identity at that time. Savva Mamontov, a celebrated patron of the arts, established art studios at his Abramtsevo estate where artists could do just that. Toys were considered a particularly creative form of folk art, and Savva's brother, Anatoly, set up a workshop to revive and develop folk-peasant toys. In this workshop, Mamontov had a collection of toys from around the world, including a Japanese nesting doll depicting the Buddhist sage Fukuruma. Inspired by this prototype, the toy maker Vassily Zviozdochkin and the artist Sergei Maliutin created the earliest Russian nesting dolls, identifiable by their Slavic features and peasant dress.

During this time, Matryona and Matryosha were popular female names. Derived from the word for 'mother', the names conjured up images of a healthy, plump woman with plenty of children. Thus the diminutive of the name was applied to the nesting dolls, symbolic of motherhood, fertility and Mother Russia.

At the beginning of the 20th century, large-scale production of the Russian matryoshka began at the toy centre at Sergiev Posad. Here, artists developed a unique, realistic style of painting the dolls, depicting colourful scenes of village life, patriotic historical figures and beloved literary characters.

The Bolshevik regime began cracking down on this creative outlet as early as 1923. The exhibition and sale of any matryoshki not consistent with the regime's artistic or ideological goals were banned. The ban also included the depiction of such controversial figures as tailors, bakers and any entrepreneurial types; Gypsies (Roma), Jews and other ethnic groups; fantastical figures such as mermaids and goblins; and so on. Eventually, the matryoshka's diversity and creativity diminished, and she adopted one standard female image. Factory production began in the 1930s, and this 'art' was nearly lost.

The 1990s saw a revival of the more original matryoshka, designed and painted by individuals. Production returned to artists and craftsmen, who are free to paint whom and how they wish. As a result, modern-day matryoshki take on every imaginable character and style.

 Once again (this time due to market forces), artists often get inspiration for this Russian handcraft from foreign sources. From Warner Brothers to the Bush brothers, from the Red Sox to the Red Wings, from the Simpsons to Star Wars, many Western popular cultural images are depicted on the dolls these days

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