Matryoshka! Or, Russian Nesting Dolls

This will just be a quick fun fact as I’ve been writing a lot about my trip in Uruguay this week. Writing this week, that is. The trip was back in January. Let’s start over.

This will just be a quick fun fact inspired by a discussion at work regarding the correct name of Russian nesting dolls.

One of my colleagues suggested babushka dolls, another said just Russian dolls, and I, needing to be right, said nothing until I had looked it up, and then shouted Matryoshka! And everyone looked at me like I was crazy, because they’d already moved on from the topic. This seems to happen to me a lot.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, Russian nesting dolls, or matryoshka dolls, are sets of small wooden dolls in decreasing size placed inside one another. They are generally hand painted, with the outermost doll traditionally a woman and the inner dolls variations of the same, either gender, but with similar markings. The smallest doll is usually made from a single piece of wood and is painted like a wee baby.

We had a set when I was growing up, and I loved taking them apart and putting them back together so that the painting lined up exactly each time. I was a weird kid. But let’s be honest, I would 100% spend a fair bit of time doing that if I had a set sitting around the house now. So I guess I’m a weird adult too. I’m ok with this 🙂

Matryoshka dolls date back from 1890 in, you guessed it! Russia. They were designed by folk artists, and gained worldwide popularity just 10 years later after winning a bronze metal in the Paris world fair.

Although most people are familiar with the image of Matryoshka dolls, the idea has actually been around for centuries. Chinese nesting ‘boxes’ were made as early as 1000AD, and evolved into nesting dolls sometime in the 18th century, before spreading into Japan shortly after.

There is of course a lot more to learn about nesting dolls, both of the Russian and Chinese/Japanese persuasions, including symbolism, religious and cultural influences, etc.

But rather than going into all of that, I’m going to share some of my new favourite nesting dolls, which certainly vary from the traditional (thanks Google!).

The following can all be purchased on Etsy, click on the names 🙂

Minions; Kitty Cats; Day of the Dead; Disney Princess; Harry Potter; Elvis; Russian Politicians; Star Wars; Superhero; Beatles

Also available for purchase, my personal favourite, Trump and his peeps.

And finally, if none of the above appeal to you, you can have custom matryoshka dolls made, complete with hand painted pictures of you and your loved ones! The perfect, not at all creepy, gift for any occasion! Or you can just go traditional.