The History of the First Russian Dolls

Elsa

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 Abramtsevo colony has continued to be a famous center for Slavic culture and folk art since the nineteenth century. Matryoshka dolls received global exposure in 1900 after Mamontov’s wife presented them at the Exposition Universelle world's fair in Paris where they won the bronze metal.

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