Over the years, my mother has gathered a number of wonderful matryoshka dolls, those beautiful little wooden dolls of diminishing size that fit one inside the other.   To the child, each of her grandchildren go straight for the nesting dolls on each visit, moving past the baskets of Fisher Price toys and coloring books as if pulled by an unseen force.  There is nothing more satisfying for a young child than being able to open each of the dolls one by one–nesting them together, pulling them back apart.

I’ve gathered on these virtual gallery shelves an exhibit meant to pay homage to all things matryoshka.

Nesting

Let’s begin with a print that captures the spirit of nesting dolls beautifully.  Tsk tsk (how much do you love that shop name?!) calls this “Treasured:”

From two dimensional to three: this set of four matryoshka dolls needle felted by seller Made by Laura is nothing short of stunning.

Trish Grantham makes the most amazing fine art nesting dolls.  I would love to have both of the following sets on a mantle in my home (and I would never let my children touch them). Notice the title of each set and the way the it plays out in the artwork on the dolls:

Hearts Beat Stronger In An Electrical Storm

French Toast Recipe

I dare you to resist Anatomy of a Skirt‘s set of zippered “Matryoshka Bots.”

Equally iresitable are Rockerbox‘s Crooner nesting dolls . . .

. . . The Farm Family Nesting Dolls from Cat Bird Studios . . .

. . . and this delightfully fun cat set from Home Crafts Catatalog.

Belleslettres makes nesting doll sets that are more reminiscent of pop culture.  My favorites are “Pink Slips:”

And then this fabulous homage to the US President, Barack Obama.  The political matryoshka is actually quite fitting; in Russia, politicians were often depicted in nesting dolls. Check it out:

Our final set is another homage to a historical figure, but this one from the art world.  Just look at what CBino was able to do with one of this Curator’s favorite painters:

Hope you enjoyed our little tour through these precious nestlings.

Happy stalking!

Curator Beatrice