Vernissage Press
ISBN: 0-9725027-1-8
9 inches x 11 inches, hardbound
240 pages, 330 color plates
Distribution: Baker&Taylor, TolsToys (wholesale)
Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, Borders, TolsToys.com (retail)
CONTENTS
Chapter 1. A History: From Japanese Doll to Symbol of Russia
The tale of the matryoshka is not long in historical time.
Yet it began before the Russian Revolution and it has outlasted
the Soviet Union. This is the story within a story of a doll within a doll.
Chapter 2. How Matryoshki Are Made: First You Take a Linden Tree
The making of a matryoshka doll is much the same today as it was
over a hundred years ago. It takes steady hands, good eyes, and joyful hearts.
Chapter 3. Classifying Matryoshki: Every Face an Eyelash Different
Classifying the kinds and styles of matryoshki is an exercise in wonder
and delight. Understanding their differences and their common features,
we understand their appeal.
Chapter 4. Patterns and Themes: A Story Within a Story
Patterns and themes emerge in the artists' studios and in the souvenir markets.
While on one hand the dolls are individual works of art or handcraft,
on the other they are a business.
Chapter 5. The Cities and Factories: Made in the Russian Motherland
The cities and factories where the matryoshki are made are not far
from cosmopolitan Moscow in kilometers or business acumen,
but decades away in the spirit of handcraft and imagination.
Chapter 6. The Artists: Entrepreneurs in the New Russia
Of the countless men and women who make matryoshki in modern Russia,
we visit just a few of the independent artists.
Chapter 7. Collecting Matryoshki: One is Never Enough
Once smitten, the collector has a lot to choose from and a lot to learn.
A few tips from someone whose business is matryoshka dolls
will be a great help to someone who loves them.
Bibliography
Glossary of Trade and Russian Words
Index
SYNOPSIS
The Art of the Russian Matryoshka is the most comprehensive book ever written on Russian nesting dolls, covering their history, how and where they are made, the many different styles of dolls, and their creators. Author Rett Ertl uses his thirty years of experience in Russia to present this information in a straightforward and engaging style, while tying the story of nesting dolls into the story of Russia’s development. He concludes that matryoshki are not just dolls within dolls, but themes within themes.
The history of matryoshki (pl.) is a short one, dating to the 1890s, when a Russian traveler returned from Japan with a doll within a doll. The first Russian doll was turned on a lathe by a master toy maker in Sergiev Posad, home of a well known monastery and several wooden toy workshops. The doll was soon widely produced, becoming the symbol of Russia that it is today. In addition to a photo of the first Russian matryoshka, the history chapter includes original photos of several of Russia’s first matryoshka artists. For historical research, Ertl commissioned papers by three leading Russian authorities on toys and folk art.
The tools and techniques for making matryoshki are essentially unchanged since the time of the first dolls, as the photos make astonishingly evident. The book shows and tells of each step in the manufacturing process, from the cutting and drying of linden and birch logs, to preparing the wood and turning it on a lathe, to the priming, painting and lacquering of the dolls. The photos in this section, by co-author Rick Hibberd, reveal a Russia that most would think had disappeared long ago.
In classifying and describing the immense variety of kinds, shapes, sizes and styles of dolls, Ertl brings to bear his almost ten years as an importer of Russian crafts. He has applied the product and marketing sense of a businessman to survey the full range of these dolls, from toys to souvenirs to works of fine art. In the fourth chapter, the decorative and artistic themes are categorized, each with delightful examples, all of which are color plates.
The chapter on cities and factories describes the “Matryoshka Trail,” beginning in Sergiev Posad, which is still a major production center, moving to Polkhovsky Maidan, where matryoshka making is literally a backyard business, and including the large factories in Semyonov, Kirov and Nolinsk. Photos of the factories and descriptions of how they have developed provide another unique perspective on matryoshka making and today’s Russia.
Matryoshka making has blossomed since the fall of the Soviet Union. Artists are now able to create whatever kinds of dolls they wish and to sell them freely. Creating matryoshki has also provided a living to people who have lost the jobs that they held in the planned economy. The chapter on artists gives a brief look into the lives of some of these independent matryoshka artists, some of whom were visited in their studios – typically a corner of their homes.
Ertl draws on his decades of experience to give advice on collecting matryoshki in the final chapter. Dolls shown in this chapter and throughout the book come from Ertl’s own shelves, several collectors in the United States, Russian museums, and other importers. Readers are invited to collect matryoshki as an accessible way to participate in a Russian folk art tradition that is tightly tied to the past, yet has evolved to reflect the fascinating changes occurring in Russia today.
About Snow Maiden book • Snow Maiden authors • Snow Maiden pages • Snow Maiden reviews
About Vernissage Press • Press Room • Contacts • Buy Books • Home