Matryoshka Doll

Matryoshka dolls also known as Babushka dolls, stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name matryoshka, literally "little matron", is a diminutive form of Russian female first name "Matryona" or "Matryosha" It is believed that the Russian wooden painted doll appeared in the 1890s, when the rapid economic and cultural development of the country was accompanied by national identity. In this period, an artistic direction known as the “Russian style” arose in Russia. The first sketches were developed by professional artist Sergey Malyutin (1859-1937), who actively promoted the “Russian style” in art. Savva Mamontov's wife presented the dolls at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, where the toy earned a bronze medal. Soon after, matryoshka dolls were being made in several places in Russia and shipped around the world.