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A Labor Day message from Kimmy and Yeti!
On the first Monday of September, Canadians and Americans
will be celebrating Labor Day. Let’s
take a look at how this all began. In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial
Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and
seven-day weeks in order to earn a basic living. People of all…
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The History of the Nesting Dolls
Have you ever wondered how these nesting dolls were created? Would you like to learn the history behind
them? Below is an index for the entire history of these dolls. Where
did they originate? The
History of the First Russian Dolls The
Matryoshka Russian Dolls Symbolism of the Matryoshka Dolls How
are the Nesting Dolls…
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Where did they originate?
While the modern nesting doll is most popularly
associated with Russia (Matryoshka dolls), the first nesting dolls actually
came from China. The Chinese crafted nesting boxes that date back to the
Song Dynasty, around 1000 AD. These boxes were both functional and
decorative. During the 1700s they applied this concept to a…
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The Matryoshka Russian Dolls
The first set of dolls was made of linden wood, and
painted in subtle earth tones by Maliutin himself, the dolls were dubbed,
"Matryoshka." The popular female name of the time Matryona, which was
derived from the Latin root "mater" or mother, was the inspiration
for the dolls title. It was a fitting name for a round…
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The History of the First Russian Dolls
In 1890, the first Matryoshka doll was designed and
painted by Sergey Malyutin and carved from wood by Vasily Zvyozdochkin.
Malyutin and Zvyozdochkin were both Russian folk artists living under the
patronage of the wealthy industrialist Savva Mamontov on the renowned
Abramtsevo estate. Located north of Moscow, the…
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Symbolism of the Matryoshka Dolls
When the early nesting dolls were
created, all of them were presented with females as their biggest dolls. That
is because a couple of the main symbols of the matryoshka dolls were of
depicting a woman’s fertility and their motherhood. The shape of the
big-bellied doll almost portrayed a mother’s stout figure and her…
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How are Nesting Dolls Made?
I found an excellent video on YouTube which I will post
below all these steps on how they are made. Only the finest lime wood will be used to create these dolls. Once they are cut down to size, the wood gets examined
for quality and if the wood is soft inside it gets rejected. The wood is then carved with razor sharp…