They say that at the end of the XIXth century the Mamontovs, famous Russian industrialists, were presented with a Japanese carved statuette of a Buddhistic saint Fukurudzhi (Fukuruma) brought either from Paris or Honshu. This statuette had a surprise in it, it could be divided into two parts. There was a smaller statuette dividing in two hidden in it. All in all there were five of them.
This statuette was supposed to be the ancestor of the Russian detachable toy which represented the image of a peasant girl having a common name Matryeshka (Matryena).
The first Russian matryoshka is thought to be made and painted in a Moscow toy workshop in 1890s according to the model brought from Japan. This model was made with a sense of humor having lots of statuettes depicting the above mentioned Fukuruma - a bald man with the head stretching upwards because of the numerous thoughts he had in it.
There are certain facts in the history of the Russian toy trade proving that the tradition to carve and paint wooden eggs for Easter contributed to the matryoshka creation.
There is an interesting picture in one of the albums dedicated to the works of a Russian artist S. Malyutin. This represents a sketch to paint a carved wooden doll. This famous artist became the creator of the first Russian matryoshka. The carved shape was introduced by V. Zvyozdochkin, a native of Voronovskaya Volost of Podolsky County in Moscow Province which was famous for its skillful turners.
The birthplace of matryoshka was the workshop "Children Upbringing" owned by A. Mamontov. Zvyozdochkin had worked there since 1898.
Thus matryoshka dates back to those days being more than a century old, still it has remained one of the Russian symbols and one of the most favourite souvenirs brought from the Russian Federation.
No comments:
Post a Comment