{"product_id":"vintage-russian-matryoshka-nesting-dolls-made-in-ussr-c-1950-1991","title":"Vintage Russian Matryoshka Nesting Dolls, Made in USSR, c. 1950–1991","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA set of three Russian nesting dolls, hand painted in aniline dye under a clear lacquer over a pale turned birch ground.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe largest wears a coral headscarf drawn down to a point at the brow, with a face painted in fine black line: arched brows, lashed almond eyes, a small mouth and two round cheeks. Below the scarf the body opens into a clear yellow field carrying one large flower, an amber and orange bloom with a dark centre, drawn with looping black line work and flanked by green leaves. The foot is banded in a deeper yellow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe middle doll repeats the scheme in miniature with a scarlet hibiscus form bloom against the same yellow ground. The smallest, solid and not opening, carries a simple spray of blue and green foliage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lacquer has mellowed to a warm honey tone and the turning is crisp, with the halves of the two larger dolls meeting cleanly and holding closed by friction alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe base of the largest doll carries a stamp in purple ink reading MADE IN USSR across two lines, struck between two vertical rules.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat stamp is the documentary evidence and it does real work. The Soviet Union existed under that name from 1922 until its dissolution in December 1991, which is the hard outer bracket for the manufacture of this set. It cannot have been made before the state existed and it cannot carry that country of origin after the state ceased to.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe stamp narrows it further in one respect. A country of origin mark in English, rather than in Cyrillic, indicates production for export, and Soviet export of decorative and craft goods to western markets on any scale belongs to the postwar decades rather than to the interwar years. The range below is set on that basis, with the 1991 end secured by the stamp itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe painting is in the Semyonov manner, named for the town in the Nizhny Novgorod region whose workshops produced the yellow ground doll with one large central flower and a red or coral scarf. That is offered as a stylistic attribution rather than as a workshop record. The set carries no workshop mark and no artist's initials.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ec. 1950–1991. Dated documentarily. The purple ink MADE IN USSR stamp on the base gives a hard outer bracket of 1922 to December 1991, and the English language country of origin indicates export production, which places it in the postwar decades. No workshop mark or artist's initials are present\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOrigin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSoviet Union, stamped MADE IN USSR\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMatryoshka nesting set of three. The two larger dolls open, the smallest is solid\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTurned birch, hand painted in aniline dye under clear lacquer\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCoral headscarf and yellow ground on the largest with a single amber and orange bloom in black line work and green leaves. Scarlet bloom on the middle doll, blue and green foliage on the smallest. Yellow banded foot\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStyle\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSemyonov manner. Stylistic attribution, not a workshop record\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePurple ink stamp to the base of the largest doll reading MADE IN USSR between two vertical rules\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLargest approximately 4.5 in. high by 2.5 in. across. Smallest approximately 1.75 in. high\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eVery good. All three present and correct. No cracks, splits or losses found. Lacquer intact with a warm mellowed tone, paint bright with no flaking. Light rubbing to the foot band of the largest and to the base edges consistent with handling. Halves seat and hold closed\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA nesting set is one of the few decorative objects people actually pick up. It invites handling, it rewards it, and it works on a child and an adult in exactly the same way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe colour is the design argument. Coral, amber and clear yellow against warm birch is a palette that belongs to no current trend and therefore will not date, and a set of three lined up on a shelf edge gives a rhythm that a single object cannot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe USSR stamp matters commercially as well as historically. It is the difference between a souvenir and something with a date on it, and for a shop it gives the piece a line of copy that sells it before anyone has to explain what it is.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67557741625449,"sku":"VE-1757","price":131.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/01_15f56be6-4ccf-4238-9e59-a213a24bd243.jpg?v=1790582351","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/vintage-russian-matryoshka-nesting-dolls-made-in-ussr-c-1950-1991","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}