Zagorsk style Nesting Doll (5 Pc)

Five piece Soviet style "Zagorsk" matryoshka nesting doll.

Dimensions: 4 1/2"H x 3"D

The name matryoshka, literally "little matron," is a diminutive form of the Russian first name "Matryona" (Матрёна) or "Matryosha.” The first Russian nested doll set was made in 1890 by craftsman and carver Vasily Zvyozdochkin, from a design created by Sergey Malyutin, a folk craft painter at Abramtsevo. The doll began to appear in a number of late Imperial children’s craft and education programs, which is why it is traditionally thought of as a toy.