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CLASSICAL NESTING DOLLS

We use the term “classical” to refer to a six-inch, 5-piece nesting doll. Perhaps the most striking difference between the classical and traditional matryoshka is the color. Traditional dolls are usually painted with bright or primary colors, especially blue, yellow, red, orange, and pink. Classical dolls make liberal use of black, which is only used to outline features of traditional dolls. In addition, forest green, navy blue, burgundy, violet, and deep red grace the scarves and bases of classical dolls. Classical patterns are varied, but they usually feature flowers rather than aprons, and often lack arms and hands. Their faces are not as standardized as traditional dolls. Their eyes tend to be more expressive than factory-painted eyes, and the rouge on their cheeks is more subtle. Classical nesting dolls sometimes feature medallions on their stomachs, on which flowers or landscapes are painted. More often, the flowers are painted on a shawl that is draped over the head of the doll and continues to the front of the doll. Traditional nesting dolls are almost always alike from largest to smallest, with occasional exceptions such as a boy/girl doll. Flowered classical nesting dolls are likewise usually the same color and pattern as they get smaller. But other classical nesting dolls depict a variety of objects in the arms of the doll. One common theme is a series of musical instruments, another a series of vegetables, and a third depicts a samovar on the outside doll, followed by a teapot and other objects associated with teatime.

STORYTELLER NESTING DOLLS

Folk tales and fairy tales are two different terms in English, but the Russian word skazka applies to both. A folk tale is short and to the point, usually with a moral. It often takes place in a rural setting, its main characters are peasants and animals, and, in keeping with Russian tradition, expresses a bit of peasant wisdom. A fairy tale is generally longer and almost always includes fantasy characters. There are hundreds of traditional Russian folk tales, and many of them have been portrayed on nesting dolls. The four most commonly pictured on matryoshki are The Turnip (Repka), The Roll (Kolobok), The Tower (Teremok), and The Spotted Hen (Kurochka ryaba). There are several versions of each of these tales—those presented here are the most common. Not only are fairy tales longer and more fanciful than folk tales, but they are usually attributed to specific authors. Perhaps because of the complexity of fairy tales, they are most commonly depicted on nesting dolls as miniatures on medallions and, therefore appear on more expensive matryoshki. Often, these illustrations are copies of lacquer boxes—which frequently depict fairy tale themes—usually in the style of Palekh artists. (For more information on lacquer boxes, see Lucy Maxym’s Russian Lacquer, Legends, and Fairy Tales.) This style works well on nesting dolls; it features fine painting on a black background. A black medallion stands out on any background color, and the miniature is well framed by the scarf of the matryoshka.

UNIQUE STYLES OF DOLLS

MICRO-MATRYOSHKA- One of the most fascinating developments in nesting doll production is the micromat. As with the standard dolls, the most common micromats have 5 pieces. But they are only about 1¼ inches high, and the smallest piece is about the size of a grain of rice. These are the medium-sized ones. Valery Aleksandrovsky, of Sergiev Posad, produces perhaps the most popular micromat, a 10-piece snowman, who, with his top hat, stands about 1¾ inches high. The smallest piece in this doll is so tiny that if it is dropped on a carpet, it is almost impossible to find. Admittedly, the last piece doesn’t have much painting on it, usually two or three dots, but its size alone is amazing. Micromats are so small that it’s hard to believe the smallest pieces are actually turned. Aleksei Kremnev paints micromats in his apartment. Like factory painters, he paints several dolls at a time and lines them up on a table. However, rather than sitting on a high stool, he sits on a couch, and the coffee table is his table. Each piece rests on a clever-looking holder. It is not a specially designed holder but rather the disposable needle from a syringe. The pieces are so minute that an artist couldn’t possibly hold them in his hand, so he simply sticks them on the needle and holds onto the plastic end of the needle.

POTBELLIED NESTING DOLLS- Recently, other shapes have appeared. One that has become relatively common is what we call the “pot-belly.” These are dolls that are almost as wide as they are tall. Potbellies have several disadvantages: because of their round shape, they are a little harder to grasp and therefore to open, and their round shape sometimes is more likely to stick inside the next larger doll. They do, however, have one big advantage—their shape gives room for more dolls. The most common potbelly nesting doll, which is about five inches tall and four inches wide, is a 10-piece. This compares with the most common 10-piece Maidan, Semyonov, or Kirov doll, which is usually about eight inches tall. itself to more dolls, the 30-piece dolls have incredibly thin walls. The walls of some of the inner dolls are so thin that black paint used on the outside of the doll seeps through the wood to the inside.