'Tiniest Doll' (black)

Size: approx. 2.4' Metric: 6 cm Consists of: 10 pieces Finish: glossy (lacquer) Availability: ships within 5-10 business days Origin: Russian Federation Product Details As all of our nesting dolls, this one is handcrafted in the heart Russia. It is handturned from linden wood and then handpainted by a professional nesting doll artist. It is a typical nesting doll, and each smaller piece of the set fits into the next larger one. Each doll is coated with 3-5 layers of crystal clear lacquer. MORE INFO / RELATED STORY: RUSSIAN BEAUTY What is a typical old Russian conception of woman's beauty? The ideal of a beautiful woman was considered to be a tall, strong and stately woman with red cheeks, blue eyes and blonde hair. Such women were well-represented by the renowned Russian painter, Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. Such woman's beauty was also taken as a starting point for original matryoshka making. In provincial Russia before the revolution the name Matryona or Matriyosha was a very popular female name. It was derived from the Latin root 'mater' which means 'mother'. This name was associated with the image of a mother of a big family who was very healthy and had a portly figure. Subsequently, it became a symbolic name and was used specially to describe brightly painted wooden dolls made in such a way that they could be taken apart to reveal smaller dolls fitting inside on another. The first nesting dolls of Sergiev Posad portrayed this special beauty: young girls dressed in Russian sarafans carrying baskets, scythes, bunches of flowers or dressed in winter short fur coats and scarves. The tiny 'mini' nesting doll before you is another great example of Russian beauty reflected in a matryoshka doll.