Matryoshka Dolls

The first Russian nesting doll, matryoshka, was born in 1890 in the workshop "Children's Education" based in Abramtsevo estate near Moscow. The owner of Abramtsevo was Sava Mamontov - industrialist and a patron of the arts.

The end of the 19 century in Russia was a time of great economic and cultural development. Mamontov was one of the first who patronized artist who were possessed by the idea of the creation of a new Russian style. Many famous Russian artists worked along with folk craftsmen in workshops Mamontov.

Once at a tradition Saturday meeting somebody brought a funny Japanese figurine of a good-nature bold head old man Fukuruma. The doll consisted of some other figurines nestled one another. It had 7 figurines. There was a legend that the first doll of such type on Island Honshu where Fukuruma was brought from was made by unknown Russian monk.

Really, this type of nesting toys was well known before - Russian crafters turned wooden Easter eggs, apples.

In 1900, M.A. Mamontova, the wife of Savva Mamontov, presented the dolls at the World Exhibition in Paris and the toy earned a bronze medal. Soon, many other places in Russia started making matryoshki of various styles.

During Perestroika, matryoshkas featuring the leaders of the Soviet Union became a common variety. Starting with the largest, Mikhail Gorbachev, then Leonid Brezhnev (Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko almost never appear due to the short length of their respective terms), then Nikita Khrushchev, Josef Stalin and finally the smallest, Vladimir Lenin. Newer versions start with Vladimir Putin and then follows with Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Joseph Stalin and then Vladimir Lenin.



Modern artists create many new styles of nesting dolls. The most common themes feature animal collections, portraits and caricatures of famous politicians, musicians, popular movie stars. The matryoshka dolls that feature communist leaders of Russia became very popular among Russian people in the early 90's, after collapse of Soviet Union. Today, many talented Russian artists specialize in painting themed matryoshka dolls that feature specific category of subjects, people or nature.

These dolls also make a wonderful and educational toy for children, developing their coordination skills and the sense of shape and size.

"Matreshkas" carry a rich tradition and always turn into family heirlooms.

Why it is called "Matryoshka"?

Russian wooden dolls within smaller dolls were called matryoshka. In old Russian among peasants the name Matryona or Matriosha was a very popular female name. Scholars says this name has a Latin root "mater" and means "Mother". This name was associated with the image of of a mother of a big peasant family who was very healthy and had a portly figure.

Subsequently, it became a symbolic name and was used specially to image brightly painted wooden figurines made in a such way that they could taken apart to reveal smaller dolls fitting inside one another.

How to make matryoshka

In some books it is often mentioned that the first matryoshka was made by hand. It is far from being truth. As a wooden forms for matryoshkas are turned it is consider that some mechanic tolls must be applied. Really for this operation were used and still are used quite primitive lathe (machine). The idea is that a suitable piece of wood is fixed in a rotating shaft and then is worked out. In old times a shaft was rotated using water (like a mill) or force of people. Now the same lathes are used but they are moved by electricity engines.

The basic technique of matryoshka making remains unchanged.



Raw Materials

Matryoshka dolls are made of wood from lime, balsa, alder, aspen, and birch trees; lime is probably the most common wood type. These woods share softness, light weight, and fine grain texture. In early spring, the trees for matryoshka-making are marked for cutting. They are felled in April when they are full of sap. After cutting, the trees are stripped of most of their bark, although a few inner rings of bark are left to bind the wood and keep it from splitting. The top and butt ends of the trunks are smeared with sap to keep them from cracking. The logs are stacked in piles in such a way as to leave clearance between the logs so air can circulate.

The logs are aerated in the open for at least two years. A master woodworker decides when they are seasoned enough to be worked. The tree trunks are cut into lengths appropriate for the heights of the matryoshkas to be made and transported to the woodworker's shop.

Raw materials for treating the worked dolls before painting include oil to retain the moisture and a starch-based glue primer. The artist uses tempera paints, oil paints, gold leaf, and less often, watercolors. Lacquer and sometimes wax are used to provide protective layers on the painted artworks.

Design

The source pieces of wood dictate design somewhat in that they may limit the height, diameter, thinness of the shells of the dolls, and other factors. The master woodworkers are extraordinarily skilled in choosing the right wood for the work. Although matryoshka dolls usually take one of several basic shapes, the turner is free to choose all aspects of shape and size. In painting, the author's style dominates; that is, the individual artist is able to select the theme, story, or character of the doll and to decorate it as he or she wishes. Design limitations vanished with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of Russia to the world marketplace.



The Manufacturing Process

1) Turning
It is essential that the full set of matryoshka be made from one piece of wood because the expansion-contraction characteristics and moisture content of the wood are unique; making a set of dolls from different pieces of wood would result in a set that almost certainly would not fit together properly. Matryoshka-making begins with the smallest doll—the one is that is a solid piece and cannot be taken apart. This smallest figurine is shaped on a turning lathe first, and her shape and size determine those of all the larger dolls that follow. The bottom half of the next doll (the smallest one that can be taken apart) is turned first. The last portion of this lower half that is made is the ring fitting the bottom to the top. When the ring on the lower half is finished, the upper part of the matryoshka is made and the inset for the ring is carved. Each doll is turned at least 15 times.

The craftsman uses few tools, including the turning lathe and a variety of woodcarving knives and chisels of different lengths and shapes. The woodworker completes his job by putting the upper part of the matryoshka doll on its lower half and allowing the wood to dry. This tightens the ring to its upper fitting so the halves of the doll will close securely.

Turning the dolls on a lathe and sizing them to fit each other takes skill, intuition, and a master woodworker's experience. No measurements are made during the manufacture of a set of dolls.

2) Treating
The worked doll is almost pure white because of the color of the source wood. She is oiled to retain moisture and prevent cracking and left to cure over time. After curing, she is cleaned thoroughly, and one or more coats of starchy glue are painted over the outer surface as a primer for painting. The primer is very carefully applied to create a smooth surface and to prevent smudging.

3) Painting
In the history of the matryoshka doll, the early dolls were prized for the skills of the turner and his ability to make a thin shell for the matryoshka. Woodworking was prized above painting. By the 1980s, this balance had shifted and the painting was considered to add more value than the wood turning. There were also two schools of emphasis in painting; one puts more importance on the doll's face, and the other features the costume and its details. Matryoshka artists are often also painters of religious icons (images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other religious figures) that are revered in churches and private homes. Thus, the detail they can achieve in their chosen style is amazing.

The painter is the next craftsman to work on the matryoshka. Early matryoshkas were painted with gouache, an opaque form of watercolor; today, high-quality tempera (colloid-based paint like poster paint), oil, and other paints (the same as those used by artists on canvas) are used to color the dolls. Watercolors are also used, but watercolor dolls are more rare and expensive because watercoloring wood is a difficult technique. The painters are true artists who know the character of the wood, the tradition of the matryoshka and other wooden toys, and national costume and folk tales, as well as their own individual artistic strengths. The themes used to paint the matryoshka are usually typical of the studio of the artist and the region and are suited to the size and shape of the dolls. The artistic style may be very coarse or extremely fine—sometimes, only a single hair from a brush is used to add eyelashes and threads of lace. Gold leaf is also added to enhance the detailing.

Some styles of matryoshka are colored with aniline (synthetic organic) dyes instead of paint. The dye has a lighter texture, more like watercolor, and dolls that are dyed usually have a more childlike style. The colors tend to be basic green (from a vegetable dye), fuchsine (a brilliant bluish red), blue, and yellow. Early examples of dolls colored with dye were also coated with glue that dried the colors to dark hues.

Although the majority of matryoshkas are painted all over, some are not primed so the native wood is exposed. The wood becomes the background or thematic color of the doll, and paint is added to give her a face and costume. A heated poker is also used in some designs to burn in details of the doll including facial features and costume details. The doll may be left with only the poker work designs as her character, or the poker outlines may be filled with paint. All painted dolls are covered with lacquer to finish them and protect the paint. Some dolls with unpainted wood and poker detailing are not lacquered.

4) Finishing
The painter completes his or her set of matryoshka by adding his signature to the bottom of the largest doll as well as a number showing the number of nests in the set. After the paint has dried, the dolls are finished with a protective coating. Wax and varnish are used rarely, and lacquer is the most common finish. For the artistic sets, at least five coats of lacquer are applied.



Byproducts/Waste
Matryoshka making does not produce any byproducts although the artistic centers where they are crafted usually make other wood products. The seasoning of the wood is time consuming, and, when the wood is ready for turning, woodworkers avoid waste whenever possible. Similarly, the painters are highly skilled craftsmen and little paint or lacquer waste is generated.