Matryoshka. The first doll set

The first doll set was made in 1890 at a toy company on the Abramtsevo estate in Moscow. In 1870, the estate had been purchased by Savva Mamontov, an industrialist and patron of the arts. He founded an artistic union at the estate, which included some of the best Russian artists of the time. Several workshops were built there, including the Children’s Education Workshop where the first dolls were made.

One story regarding the origin is that Matryoshka dolls were inspired by a doll brought back from Japan by Mamontov’s wife. It is said that one of the artists was intrigued by the doll and decided to make something similar in a Russian style.

Others say that the Matryoshka doll was invented in response to a demand for new products. The first dolls were carved by Vasiliy Zvyozdochkin using a design from Sergey Malyutin, both of whom were artists at Abramtsevo. The memoirs of Vasiliy Zvyozdochkin talk of how he and his colleagues decided that a wooden doll they were creating would be more interesting with other toys hidden inside, but there was no mention of a Japanese doll.

The first Matryoshka doll was called The Rooster Girl.