Story of Matryoshka

Famous the world over, the Russian nesting Matryoshka Dolls are a favorite of young and old alike. The origin of the word "Matryoshka" goes back to an old fashion name Matriona, commonly used among peasantry. Perhaps the idea of nesting dolls came from the legendary idol from the Ural Mountains called Jumala. It was made of pure gold, was hollow and included three figures, one inside the other. The first four characters of Matryoshka word - "Matr" come from the Russian word for "Mother", which gives them a whole different meaning. The idea is that Matryoshka dolls represent the motherhood. This is why traditionally the dolls were painted like women and every one is like a mother that has a baby inside.

What is going on with the art now.

Beside the traditional designs, the new directions of this art have developed for the recent years: unique collectible Matryoshka dolls. These are made by individual artists and every one is one of a kind. There are hundreds of artists, each one having unique styles, designs and know-how. The number of dolls each artist makes is limited, because some of them are of such complexity,that the artist can not physically make more then a few a year! The collectible Matryoshka dolls depict scenes from the Russian fairy tales, Russian churches an architecture of the old Russian cites and towns, life scenes of the Russian people, political leaders, sport, animals, other Russian arts, sand lots more...