Matryoshka is the most famous and most popular of all Russian souvenirs. The traditional design of nesting dolls is still the image of a young Russian woman dressed in a national costume and with a scarf on her head. In the classic matryoshka, all the dolls in the set look almost identical, and the number of dolls in the set varies from 5 to 30.
Name history
In the provincial pre-revolutionary Russia the name Matryona was a very popular female name. It comes from Latin word matrona-in Ancient Rome freeborn name married woman, enjoying a good reputation and belonging to the upper class. Later, in Russian, the word matron began to be used in the sense of a respected woman, mother of the family. From the term "matrona" came the Christian woman's name Matrona, transformed in Russian into Matryona.
The name was associated with the image of the mother of a large family, who also had a portly figure. Subsequently, the name Matryona acquired symbolic meaning and was used specifically to describe brightly colored wooden puppets, made in such a way that one was inside the other. Thus the mother-doll with her numerous daughter-dolls perfectly expresses ancient symbol human culture and is also considered a symbol of motherhood and fertility.
With old technology
Even before the idea of making nesting dolls appeared, Russian artisans had considerable experience in working wood on lathes. Long before the appearance of nesting dolls, craftsmen made Easter eggs and apples nested one inside the other.
Drying of the tree took place in natural conditions on outdoors and not less than two years; only experienced master could decide when the material would be ready for processing. Then the logs were sawn into blanks.
Hand making a doll on a lathe requires high qualifications, the ability to work with a limited set of tools. The smallest figures were made first. On it then turned next doll, and so on. The mold-making operations did not involve any measurement whatsoever; the master relied only on intuition and his skill.
Official history of occurrence
It is believed that the first Russian nesting doll was born in 1890 in the workshop of the Abramtsevo estate in new Moscow. The owner of the estate was Savva Mamontov, an industrialist and philanthropist.
Nesting doll "Fukurama", Japan, ca. 1890
One Saturday evening, someone brought a funny Japanese doll of the bald old man Fukurama into the workshop. The doll consisted of seven figures nested one inside the other. The origin of this doll is not known for certain; no one knows where it came from. However, there are different legends, the most popular of which says that the first doll of this type was made by a Russian monk on the island of Honshu in Japan. In fact, this type of product, when several items are inserted one into the other, has been known for a very long time. Using this technology, Russian artisans have been producing wooden Easter eggs and apples for several centuries. However, the very idea of putting one product into another is quite ancient and goes back to the past of China, and it is not known which of the peoples inhabiting it, since it can be traced long before the unification of the Chinese peoples.
One of the artists of the Mamontov workshop, Sergei Malyutin, was intrigued by Fukurama and decided to do something similar, but with Russian specifics. The doll must have a Russian spirit and represent Russian cultural and artistic traditions. So Sergey Malyutin made a sketch of the doll and asked Vasily Zvezdochkin to make a wooden form of it.
Old man
Hetman
Malyutin painted the dolls according to own design. The first Russian nesting doll consisted of eight dolls and described peasant family- mother and 7 daughters. This set and some other sets are now kept in the Sergiev Posad Toy Museum. In the same place in the museum you can see other old nesting dolls: the Old Man, the Hetman, "The Tale of the Turnip".
Sergiev Posad Russian matryoshka style
Until the end of the 90s of the 19th century, nesting dolls were made in the Moscow workshop, and after its closure, production moved to the training and demonstration workshops of Sergiev Posad near Moscow. In fact, Sergiev Posad became the place where the first industrial model of the Russian matryoshka was made. This ancient city is located 73 kilometers from Moscow. The city grew up around the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
There was a market in the huge market square near the monastery. The square was always full of people, and it is not surprising that the first nesting dolls depicted just such a colorful life. Among the first images are young girls dressed in bright sundresses, Old Believer women in conservative clothes, brides and grooms, shepherds with pipes, old men with lush beards. AT early period development of technology in nesting dolls appeared and male images too.
Sometimes the matryoshka represented a whole family with numerous children and households. Some nesting dolls were dedicated historical topics and depicted boyars with their wives, Russian nobles of the 17th century, as well as legendary Russian heroes. Sometimes nesting dolls were dedicated to book characters. For example, in 1909, on the centenary of Gogol, Sergiev Posad released a series of nesting dolls based on Gogol's works: Taras Bulba, Plyushkin, Governor. In 1912, for the centenary Patriotic War against Napoleon, nesting dolls depicted Kutuzov and some other generals. Some nesting dolls borrowed fairy tales, often themes were taken from folk heroic tales.
The faces of the early matryoshka dolls of Sergiev Posad were oval, with hard features. Since the top of the dolls was greatly enlarged, the faces dominated the body. The dolls looked primitive and had a strong disproportion, but they were very expressive. In this early period, painting dolls was considered a secondary matter. In the first place came the skill of a turner, capable of making blanks with very thin sides. Professional Artists, who painted the first dolls, did it for their own pleasure and did not take their work seriously. That is why the first nesting dolls look very primitive.
A little later folk artistic tradition took over. Further development fine style Matryoshka dolls were promoted by icon painters from Sergiev Posad. Icon painters mainly focused on the figure of a person and his face. This ancient tradition came to ancient Russian art from Byzantium, and the connection of the early type of nesting dolls from Sergiev Posad with the tradition of the local icon-painting school is confirmed both stylistically and in fact.
Sergiev Posad nesting dolls: from top to bottom - 1990 and 1998.
Matryoshka based on the fairy tale "Ruslan and Lyudmila", Sergiev Posad, 1998.
Initially, the types of nesting dolls were very different and depicted both male and female characters. Gradually female character became dominant.
Semyonov style matryoshka
Semenovo is one of the oldest craft centers. The first mention of this village dates back to around 1644. There is a legend that the settlement was founded by the merchant Semyon and an apostate monk from the Solovetsky Monastery. In 1779, during the time of Catherine the Great, about 3,000 people worked in the workshops of Semenovo. Since the village was surrounded by forests, people used the wood to produce wood products for themselves and for sale. Some craftsmen made wooden toys for children, which later became a profitable business.
The first matryoshka in Semenovo was made by Arsenty Mayorov, well known for his wooden dishes, rattles and apples. In 1924 he brought from the fair to Nizhny Novgorod unpainted nesting dolls. His eldest daughter Lyuba painted the blank with the help of an ordinary goose quill and paints used by Semenovo artists for painting toys. In 1931, an artel was created in the village, which made souvenirs, including nesting dolls.
Gradually, a unique style of the Semyonov nesting doll developed, more decorative and symbolic than the style of Sergiev Posad. The Semyonovskaya tradition of painting uses aniline dyes; the artists leave a lot of unpainted space, and the dolls varnish. Technologically, the outlines of the face are first drawn, blush is applied to the cheeks, then the skirt, apron, handkerchief and hands are drawn.
The apron is considered the main thing in Semenov's painting. Usually a bright bouquet of flowers is drawn on it.
Semenov style
Currently nesting dolls are produced at the factory "Semyonov painting" and they continue the old traditions.
Polkhov-Maidan is located 240 kilometers southwest of Nizhny Novgorod. The first matryoshka doll was made here in the 1930s.
Polkhov style
Woodworking skill - old tradition Polkhov. A variety of products were made on lathes: samovars, birds, piggy banks, salt shakers and apples. The artists used aniline dyes. Matryoshkas were primed before painting, and after painting they were varnished. The color scheme of the Polkhovskaya matryoshka is much brighter and more expressive than that of the Semenovskaya. Green, blue, yellow, purple and crimson colors are used to contrast with each other to make a bright and expressive ornament. Color saturation is achieved by applying one layer of paint to another.
The drawing style is primitive and resembles children's drawings. The image is a typical village beauty; knitted eyebrows and a face framed in black curls.
Much more attention is paid to the floral ornament than to the face. In favor of the ornament, other details of the matryoshka costume are even ignored. At the same time, the main element of the ornament on the apron is a rose, as a symbol of femininity, love and motherhood.
Rose flowers are part of every composition by the Polkhov masters.
The history of Russian nesting dolls can be divided into three periods:
- 1) 1890-1930s;
- 2) 1930s - early 1990s;
- 3) early 1990s. until now.
The first period gave the world a Russian nesting doll. Several types of dolls were developed, several styles emerged. The flowering of art was interrupted by the construction of socialism in the USSR, because the Soviet government paid little attention to the development of handicraft production. Focused on industrialization and industrial production; handicraft creativity did not fit into the concept of mass production of goods for the population. Although some types of nesting dolls were still produced.
Private production in the USSR was prohibited - artisans were obliged to work in state factories, make products according to a given pattern and not show initiative. Factory workers were not allowed to have lathes at home. Private production could be equated with theft of socialist property and was punishable by a rather long period of detention. The police and the government controlled roads and railway stations to prevent the products from being transported to other regions for sale. However, people produced their own crafts and exported them to other republics. Soviet Union, primarily to the north and Central Asia.
It was easier to work in state factories. At the very least, toys produced at state-owned enterprises were exported to many countries of the world.
Since the early 1990s, artists have been given complete freedom of expression, but the old economic system. At some point, smart people from the USSR State Planning Committee decided that it would be nice to dramatically increase the production of nesting dolls so that every person on earth could have at least one doll. So nesting dolls began to be mass-produced in Moldova, Ukraine, the Caucasus, Bashkiria, Karelia and many other places. Then no one even thought that along with tools for woodworking is not transmitted high level skill. It turned out that the world was flooded with mediocre crafts that have no value. Without native traditions, the matryoshka lost its charm and turned into an ordinary wooden toy, very primitive and simple.
Modern matryoshka
Matryoshka is a doll that looks quite simple, but it has always been the best embodiment time. Like a shape folk art matryoshka has great potential; it conveys the deep meaning of events and develops in step with the times.
AT different time different nesting dolls were created. If the early matryoshka was stylistically primitive, then starting from the 20th century, artists tried to use the surface of the nesting doll to the fullest. Appeared new type nesting dolls, which was a picture in a picture. The basis of the image was still a young girl, only now on her apron they painted not flowers, but plots of Russian fairy tales and landscapes, as well as historical places.
The complication of traditional matryoshka painting has led to a huge variety of styles and variations. Usage trend decorative elements, characteristic of the traditional centers of Russian folk culture, are becoming increasingly popular in the painting of matryoshka dolls of the early 20th century. Dolls painted to look like Gzhel, Zhostovo, Khokhloma appear.
The so-called author's matryoshka appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this period, many artists, in step with market conditions, began to paint nesting dolls. We can say that perestroika gave the world the new kind art - the author's painting of Russian nesting dolls, which is now part of many Russian and Western art collections.
The "political" matryoshka has gained particular popularity. There are a number of dolls depicting Russian tsars, Russian and foreign statesmen and politicians. The grotesque depiction of politicians is an old tradition that arose a very long time ago. Almost all politicians late 1980s and early 1990s are presented in funny cartoons. Especially popular at that time was the image of M. S. Gorbachev, who became a legendary political figure, and his matryoshka incarnation became especially popular in Europe and America.
Matryoshka is huge art event which needs to be thought through. It's like sculpture and painting, the image and soul of Russia.
Tag: art
There is probably no person on earth who, at least once in his life, has not seen a small, plump, painted in bright colors doll. Of course, we are talking about Russian matryoshka. By itself, it causes so much positive that even foreigners, coming to Russia, consider the matryoshka a must-have souvenir. A kind and cheerful round face causes a smile, regardless of mood. And after all, few people know that this is not a folk toy. And when the craftsman Vasily Zvezdochkin came up with the Russian nesting doll, almost no one has a clue.
Development constructor
And how happy the little one is when she picks up this wooden miracle! For children, this is also not just a doll, but also a kind of designer. After all, thanks to its features, the Russian folk matryoshka develops children's thinking.
The secret lies in its design. The fact is that this doll is collapsible. It consists of two parts, by separating which, you will see inside exactly the same plump woman, only smaller. Sometimes there are as many as 48 such "clones"! You can imagine the childish joy when such a treasure is discovered - a lot of miniature toys.
In addition, according to experts, this form of presentation trains the child's intellect, showing him that everything is in life goes from small to large and vice versa.
Craftsmanship and sophistication
Adults are struck by the sophistication of turning and artistic work, especially in dolls with large nesting. After all, the smallest Russian nesting doll (pictures of which accompany us all our lives) sometimes does not exceed a few millimeters in height. However, it is hand-painted. Just like the big one.
Despite the simplicity and unpretentiousness of the toy, as soon as you pick it up, you feel like a part of an old Russian ethnic group. An interesting fact is that the doll was invented and made relatively recently. And although historians find it difficult to say when the craftsman Vasily Zvezdochkin invented the Russian nesting doll, it is established for sure that this miracle appeared in the 90s years XIX century.
Legends around the origin story
The history of the Russian nesting doll, according to the popular version, began in the workshop-shop " child education", which belonged to the family of A. I. Mamontov (brother of the world-famous industrialist and philanthropist Savva Mamontov). There is a legend according to which, the wife of Anatoly Mamontov brought from Japan, where she traveled for a long time, an amazing toy figure japanese god Fukorokoju. In Russia, it was called Fukuruma. It is curious that in Japanese there is no such word, and, most likely, the name Fukurum is already Russian version named The toy figure was with interesting secret. It was divided into two halves, and inside was its smaller copy, also consisting of two parts.
co-authorship
The beautiful god delighted famous artist-modernist Sergei Malyutin. Admiring the curiosity, Malyutin suddenly caught fire interesting idea. To implement it, he attracted the turner Vasily Petrovich Zvezdochkin, a hereditary toy maker. Malyutin asked the craftsman to make a small wooden blank, which was made in a matter of minutes. Transferring the disc into the hands of the artist, the turner did not yet understand the meaning of the undertaking. Wasting no time, Malyutin, having picked up paints, painted a wooden block with his own hand.
Imagine Zvedochkin's surprise when he saw that the result was a little round girl in a simple peasant sundress with a rooster in her hands. It consisted of two halves, inside of which there was still the same young lady, but already smaller. There were eight of them in total, and each of them held a different object in their hands. There was also a sickle for the harvest, and a basket, and a jug. Interestingly, the last figurine depicted the most ordinary baby.
However, biographers who have studied Malyutin's activities are rather skeptical about this beautiful legend. The Russian matryoshka, whose pictures (at least sketchily) are not found in the artist's heritage, could not be invented in a second. And to communicate with the turner, sketches and drawings were needed.
Why is the doll called a matryoshka
Historians almost unanimously argue that the name Matryona is the most common in the villages of Russia at the end of the 19th century. It is possible that it was it that prompted the authors of the toy. And here is another assumption: when the Russian nesting doll was invented, its name came from the word "matrona", that is, the mother of a large family. They say that in this way the creators of the doll wanted to emphasize the peace and kindness of their invention. And they gave her a very affectionate and gentle name.
And another version
The toy turner himself claimed that the first Russian nesting doll was made according to a drawing from some magazine. He sawed out a “deaf” figure (that is, it did not open). she looked like a nun, and she looked hilarious. Having made the figurine, the master then gave it to the artists for painting. This version can also serve as a kind of answer to the question of when the craftsman Vasily Zvezdochkin invented the Russian nesting doll.
There is, however, a possibility that the figurine was actually painted by Sergey Malyutin. Because at that time he actively collaborated with Mamontov's publishing house and was engaged in illustrations for children's books. In other words, these two people were quite close to each other at the same time. Nevertheless, there is still no reliable version when the craftsman Vasily Zvezdochkin invented the Russian nesting doll. It is only known that the doll does not have ancient roots.
How nesting dolls were put on stream
Mamontov liked the idea with a folding doll, and in Abramtsevo, where his main workshop was located, mass production was soon established. Photos of Russian nesting dolls confirm that the first prototypes of folding figures were quite modest. The girls are "dressed" in simple peasant dresses, not distinguished by special frills. Over time, these patterns became more complex and brighter.
The number of nested figures also changed. vintage photo Russian nesting dolls show us that at the beginning of the 20th century it was considered standard to make 24-seat toys, and in exceptional cases even 48-seat ones. In 1900, the Children's Education workshop was closed, but the production of nesting dolls did not stop. It is transferred to Sergiev Posad, 80 km north of Moscow.
Is there a deep meaning in the image of nesting dolls
If we talk about a possible prototype from which the history of Russian nesting dolls began, then we need to return to the figurine of the Japanese god Fukurokuju. What does this god represent in the Ancient sages believed that a person has seven bodies: physical, ethereal, astral, cosmic, nirvanic, mental and spiritual. Moreover, each state of the body corresponded to its own god. Based on this teaching, an unknown Japanese architect made his figurine exactly “seven-seat”.
It seems to be a complete resemblance to the samples known to us and a photo of Russian nesting dolls? Indeed, were Zvezdochkin himself and other masters proceeding from such motives when creating this amazing doll? Maybe they wanted to show the versatility of the primordially Russian woman, who can handle any job?
Enough to remember miscellaneous items, which every Russian nesting doll holds in her hands. A story for children would be very instructive. But this version is unlikely. Because the master Zvezdochkin himself never remembered any Japanese gods in his life, especially with such complex names. Well, the subsequent large “nesting” of Russian nesting dolls does not fit at all with the Japanese prototype. The number of inner dolls was measured in dozens. So the story with the seven bodies of the Japanese god is most likely just beautiful legend.
and matryoshka
And yet, in Eastern mythology, there is another character whose descendant could be a Russian matryoshka. The story for children invites you to get acquainted with the monk Daruma. This is an analogue of the well-known from Chinese folklore character Bodhidharma - the founder famous monastery Shaolin.
According to the ancient Daruma decided to achieve perfection by immersing himself in meditation. For 9 years, he stared at the wall without taking his eyes off, but soon realized that he was just sleeping. And then Daruma cut off his eyelids with a knife, throwing them on the ground. And after a while, the monk's arms and legs were paralyzed from sitting in one position for a long time. That is why figurines with his image were made armless and legless.
However, the hypothesis of the emergence of a Russian doll in the image of Daruma is very imperfect. The reason lies on the surface. The fact is that the Daruma doll is non-separable and is made like our tumbler. Therefore, although we see that the customs are similar, the origin stories of both dolls are clearly different.
Make a wish and entrust it to the matryoshka
An interesting belief is connected with the eyes of Daruma. They are usually depicted on the doll as very large and without pupils. The Japanese buy these figurines and make a wish to make it come true. At the same time symbolically painting one eye. A year later, if the wish comes true, the second eye is “opened” to the doll. Otherwise, the figurine is simply taken to the temple from which it was brought.
Why so much attention to ancient Japanese beliefs? The answer is simple. Not only does a photo of a Russian nesting doll show us a resemblance, but similar rituals are also performed with it. It is believed that if you put a note with a wish inside the doll, then it will certainly come true.
An interesting fact is that the quality of the fulfillment of desire directly depends on the artistic complexity of the matryoshka. The more “nesting” the matryoshka has, and the more skillfully it is painted bright colors, the higher the chances of the guesser to get the secret.
But still...
By the way, the history of the emergence of collapsible dolls is rooted in the Russian past. Also in Ancient Rus' the so-called Easter eggs were known - artistically painted Easter eggs made of wood. Sometimes they were made hollow inside and a smaller egg was laid there. It seems that it was these Easter eggs that became indispensable attributes in Russian folk tales, where the death of Kashchei was necessarily in the egg, the egg in the duck, and so on.
It is strange to realize that the Russian nesting doll, the pictures of which are presented in this article, is shrouded in so many legends regarding its origin. However, this is true. Which once again proves: no matter who made the nesting doll and no matter what he was guided by at the same time, this person (or could touch people to the quick. After all, only what you really like and are constantly heard is overgrown with so many fabulous assumptions. Russian nesting doll - a souvenir that pleases both old and young.This is a fact.
Museum exhibits
A toy museum has been organized in Sergiev Posad. There, among other things, the first doll is supposedly exhibited. The one that is painted in a colorful sundress, and with a rooster in her hands. There are seven attachments in it, that is, in total this doll has eight places: the top girl, then three sisters, a brother and three more sisters with a little baby. The Russian Matryoshka Museum is also organized in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kalyazin, etc.
But nesting dolls are so popular that in a modern version you can meet not only a beautiful girl. Cartoon characters, politicians, all kinds of animals made in the form of a collapsible toy look very interesting.
Sometimes they say that the first doll still had 7 attachments. Although Zvezdochkin himself claimed that the nesting dolls he made were three- and six-seater. In general, it is quite clear that we will not get to the bottom of the truth. We are happy to look at the toys on display in the windows and, when we learn their history, we fall in love even more.
The creator of the matryoshka was the artist Sergey Malyutin, an apologist for the a la russe style in art. The "birth" of the main Russian souvenir took place in the early 1890s in the Moscow toy workshop "Children's Education". The doll was so successfully assimilated with ancient peasant toys that in just a few decades the myth was firmly entrenched in the minds of people, as if they played with matryoshka dolls even under Tsar Pea.
Self-portrait of Sergei Malyutin. Source: wikipedia.org
Moreover, the Japanese traditional doll became the prototype of the matryoshka. The outlandish little thing, inside of which there were six more smaller pupae, was brought from Japan by the wife of Savva Mamontova Elizaveta. All this complex toy symbolized the "seven gods of happiness." Malyutin, seeing this overseas souvenir, decided to rework it in a domestic way.
Japanese "matryoshka". Source: wikipedia.org
The first set of nesting dolls consisted of eight items. All the dolls were painted differently: among them there were both girls and boys, and the smallest personified a baby in swaddling clothes. The older “sister” was holding a black rooster in her hands. This set, painted by Malyutin, is now kept in the Toy Museum in Sergiev Posad.
The first set of Sergey Malyutin. Source: wikipedia.org
The bottom of the largest nesting doll from the first set. Source: wikipedia.org
In 1900, the matryoshka doll was presented at world exhibition in Paris. After that, the fashion for nesting dolls swept not only Russia, but also Europe, where the “Russian style” at that time was popular both in art and in interior design and clothing.
Sergiev Posad was one of the first major centers matryoshka production. Other significant producers were the city of Semyonov Nizhny Novgorod province and the village of Polkhov-Maidan. At the same time, connoisseurs could determine by eye where the matryoshka was made: the Sergius dolls seemed more knocked down and squat compared to the Semenov ones. Soon, matryoshka production went far beyond the borders of Russia: in Germany, for example, they began to produce fakes, passing them off as real Russian nesting dolls.
A traditional Russian souvenir, a symbol of our country, the nesting doll is a very young toy: it appeared only a little over a hundred years ago, in the 90s of the XIX century. However, already in 1900, at the World Exhibition in Paris, nesting dolls received gold medal as an example of "national art".
There is still no consensus among researchers regarding the exact age and origin of the matryoshka. According to the most common version, the first Russian matryoshka was born in the Moscow workshop-shop "Children's Education", which belonged to the family of the publisher and printer Anatoly Ivanovich Mamontov, brother of the famous industrialist and philanthropist Savva Mamontov. According to legend, the wife of Anatoly Ivanovich brought from Japan, from the island of Honshu, a chiseled figurine of the Japanese god Fukurokoju. In Russia, she is known as Fukurum, but in Japan there is no such word at all, and this name is most likely the result of the fact that someone at one time did not hear well or did not remember the name that was outlandish for the Russian ear. The toy had a secret: it was divided into two parts, and inside it was the same figure, but smaller, also consisting of two halves ... This toy fell into the hands of the famous Russian Art Nouveau artist Sergei Malyutin and led him to an interesting idea. He asked the turner, a hereditary toy maker, Vasily Petrovich Zvezdochkin, to carve a blank form from wood, and then painted it with his own hands. It was a round-faced plump girl in a simple Russian sundress with a rooster in her hands. From it, one after another, other peasant girls appeared: with a sickle for harvesting, a basket, a jug, a girl with her younger sister, younger brother, everything is a little less. The last, eighth, depicted a swaddled baby. It is assumed that the matryoshka got its name spontaneously - this is how someone in the workshop called it during the production process (The name "Matryona" is a reinterpretation of the word "matron", meaning mother of the family, matushka, respectable woman). So the girl was called Matryona, or lovingly, affectionately - Matryoshka. The image of a colorful toy is deeply symbolic: from the very beginning, it has become the embodiment of motherhood and fertility.
However, there are many white spots in this legend. Firstly, the sketch of a matryoshka was not preserved in the legacy of the artist Malyutin. There is no evidence that Malyutin ever made this sketch. Moreover, the turner V. Zvezdochkin claimed that he invented new toy, seeing a suitable chock in some magazine. According to her model, he carved a figurine that had a “ridiculous appearance, seemed to resemble a nun” and was “deaf” (not opened), and gave the blank to paint a group of artists.
It is possible that the master, over the years, could have forgotten who exactly painted the first matryoshka. It could well be S. Malyutin - at that time he collaborated with the publishing house of A. I. Mamontov, illustrating children's books. Who invented the matryoshka ");"> *
First matryoshkas
Toy Museum, Sergiev Posad
Be that as it may, there is no doubt that the first Russian matryoshka saw the light in late XIX century (it is unlikely that it will be possible to establish the exact year). In Abramtsevo, in the artel of Mamontov, mass production of matryoshkas was established. The first nesting doll - a girl in a folk dress, painted with gouache, looks very modest. Over time, the painting of toys became more complicated - matryoshka dolls appeared with complex floral ornaments, picturesque scenes from fairy tales and epics. Their number in the set has also increased. At the beginning of the 20th century, 24-seat nesting dolls were already made. And in 1913, the turner Nikolai Bulychev contrived to create a 48-seat doll. In the 1900s, the "Children's Education" workshop was closed, but the production of nesting dolls began to continue in Sergiev Posad, which is 70 kilometers north of Moscow, in a training workshop.
The alleged prototype of the matryoshka - the Fukurokuju figurine depicts one of the seven gods of happiness, the god of a scientific career, wisdom and intuition. The very image of Fukurokuju testifies to great intelligence, generosity and wisdom: his head has an unusually elongated forehead, grotesque facial features, deep transverse wrinkles on his forehead, he usually holds a staff with a scroll in his hands.
The ancient sages of Japan believed that a person has seven bodies, each of which is patronized by one god: physical, ethereal, astral, mental, spiritual, cosmic and nirvana. Therefore unknown japanese master decided to place several figurines symbolizing the human body, one inside the other, and the first Fukuruma was seven-seater, that is, it consisted of seven figurines nested in each other.
Some researchers associate the origin of the Russian nesting doll with another doll, also Japanese - the figurine of St. Daruma.
This toy embodies the image of a monk named Daruma. Daruma is the Japanese version of the name Bodhidharma. That was the name of the Indian sage who came to China and founded the Shaolin Monastery. By Japanese legend Daruma meditated tirelessly for nine years, staring at the wall. At the same time, Daruma was constantly subjected to various temptations, and one day he suddenly realized that instead of meditation he fell into a dream. Then he cut off the eyelids from his eyes with a knife and threw them to the ground. Now with constantly open eyes Bodhidharma could stay awake, and from his discarded eyelids appeared a wonderful plant that drove away sleep - this is how real tea grew. And later, from sitting for a long time, Daruma lost his arms and legs.
That is why the wooden doll depicting Daruma is depicted as legless and armless. She has large round eyes, but no pupils. This is connected with one interesting ritual that exists to this day.
A painted figurine of Daruma without pupils is bought at the temple and brought home. They make a wish on it, independently painting one eye on the toy. This ceremony is symbolic: opening the eye, a person asks Daruma for the fulfillment of a dream. Throughout the year, Daruma stands in the house in the most honorable place, for example, next to Buddhist altar. If during the year the wish comes true, then as a token of gratitude they "open", that is, they paint the second eye of Daruma. If Daruma was not honored to fulfill the desire of the owner, then under New Year the doll is brought back to the temple where it was bought. Bonfires are made near the temples, where they burn Darum, who did not ensure the fulfillment of desire. And instead of Darum, who failed to fulfill their desires, they buy new ones.
A similar belief exists about nesting dolls: it is believed that if you put a note with a desire inside a nesting doll, then it will certainly come true, and the more work is invested in the nesting doll, the faster the wish will come true.
The hypothesis of the origin of the matryoshka from Daruma does not take into account the fact that this doll is not collapsible at all. In fact, a daruma toy is ... a tumbler. The papier-mâché daruma has a weight, usually made of clay, placed at the base to prevent it from falling. There is even such a poem: “Look! Daruma is like a roly-poly! Thus, Daruma, most likely, is not the progenitor, but only a distant relative of both nested dolls and tumblers.
By the way, detachable figurines were popular even before the appearance of matryoshka dolls both in Japan and in Russia. So, in Rus', "pysanky" - wooden painted Easter eggs - were in circulation. Sometimes they were made hollow inside, and less was invested in more. This idea is also worked out in folklore: remember? - "a needle is in an egg, an egg is in a duck, a duck is in a hare ..."
Others were put into the hollow figurine, also depicting celestials, whose protection a person needs for a prosperous life. The idea interested Russian masters. Turner Vasily Zvezdochkin carved similar figures from wood, which were also nested one into the other. The artist S. Malyutin painted them in the Russian way.
The most big doll became a ruddy girl in a colorful scarf, a bright sundress and with a black rooster in her hand. Inside it were smaller dolls, boys and girls, and the smallest, the eighth, depicted a swaddled baby. In 1900, Russian nesting dolls were shown already in Paris, causing a real nesting boom, before Europeans liked them.
In the early 1900s the workshop "Children's Education" was closed, but the production of nesting dolls began to continue in Sergiev Posad. Demand for them did not fall. At the Leipzig Fair in 1911, even a Japanese forgery was discovered, an insert toy stylized as a nesting doll, but with oriental features and not painted.
What kind of nesting dolls were not made by inventive craftsmen! For example, nicknamed "walkers". Their feet were shod in bast shoes, and they could move along inclined plane. Later, nesting dolls "jumped" onto New Year trees, glass, ceramic and other analogues appeared. Sergievskaya, Semenovskaya, Merinovskaya, Polkhovskaya, Vyatka - each school has its own characteristics and characteristics. Finally, the matryoshka had relatives: Roly-Vstanka and Masha-tumbler.
But back to the question of the origin of the popular toy. Supporters of Japanese origin sometimes argue with adherents of Chinese. The latter claim that the country rising sun the insert doll came from the Middle Kingdom, where it was known before.
The ancient Egyptians are silent for obvious reasons. For them, however, archaeologists speak out. And if earlier the sarcophagi of the pharaohs nested in each other were cited as arguments, then in early XXI in. found something else. During the excavation of the tomb of a not-so-famous figure from the 18th dynasty, Ratatusan, scientists discovered a clay cylinder, covered with a lid, about fifteen centimeters in diameter and about forty in height.
It contained a pear-shaped wooden doll, painted and varnished. She portrayed ... Pharaoh Amenhotep IV and was detachable. Inside was a smaller figurine, also easily recognized by archaeologists: Amenhotep III. Raising the upper half of the pharaoh, they saw the face of Amenhotep II, in which was placed the image of Ramesses IV. There were 11 figurines in total, the smallest being three centimeters tall. Moreover, she did not succumb to the attribution of personality and depicted a bearded man with smoking pipe in the mouth.
The head of the expedition, Dr. Sh. Liman, called the find the rarest and most sensational, and he also asked himself the question: “Where did the Russian matryoshka in Ancient Egypt? Another question is: "Why do wooden inserts have a sequence that does not correspond to the chronology of the reign of the pharaohs?" Here are some surprises.
And here's what interests me: how, knowing nothing about Egyptian dolls, our compatriots, starting from the time of perestroika, also began to depict the country's leaders in the form of matryoshka dolls: from Lenin to Putin. Who hasn't seen these on trays, especially those intended for foreign guests?!
By the way, the researchers of Etruria also say that nesting dolls were inherent in this culture. Disagreements also reign when discussing the name of our wooden beauty of many children. Some refer to the name Matryona, common in Russia, others hint at Roman roots (matron - noble lady, mater - mother), while others associate it with the name of the Hindu mother goddess Matri.
There are already two nesting doll museums in Russia - in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. Let her story be kept and come, revealing at least a little of the riddles that it presents.
