Matryoshka Dolls

This was my first toy. The one that taught me to count... The one that taught me " big, bigger, the biggest." Matryoshka means "a little Matryona," the Russian name that means "mother." Nesting dolls are probably one of the oldest toys. They represent generations of women in the family and date back to the times when families were matrilineal. The concept has long been forgotten, but the feeling is still there." Here I am the smallest one... and then my mom, my granny... and tell me more about this bigger one... I've never met her.... what was she like? "

There are many kinds of Matryoshka dolls coming from different areas in Russia. This style is exactly like the one I played with as a child, made in Semyonov region near Moscow in a nesting doll factory the same way it was made for my mother and her mother.

Semyonovo Nesting Doll

Even if you never owned one as a child,
its never too late...