Taowa is a famous traditional handicraft and tourist souvenir in Russia. If you open the baby's stomach, you will find that it can be peeled off layer by layer. There are only a few dolls, and each doll is roughly different. Perhaps each doll's expression, color and belly describe different stories, landscapes and cultures.
Russia is a pure and kind country. Thousands of children in the world spend a happy childhood accompanied by beautiful Russian fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood and the Old Wolf, Wild Swan and Three Little Bears, which makes people never tire of listening. World-famous Russian dolls are popular all over the world because of these beautiful fairy tales.
The earliest idea of Russian dolls was to make wooden dolls to please children. Children like fairy tales, so the famous characters and animals in the stories are made into dolls. Over time, Taowa has formed her own unique style, and dolls of different sizes are placed one after another, which makes people feel more interesting.
Since14th century, Taowa originated from the ancient Russian city of Zagorsk, 70km south of Moscow. Because of the exquisite carving and painting skills of craftsmen in past dynasties and the accumulation of Russian national culture, they have always been loved by friends all over the world. Gradually, the materials of ceramic tiles are more and more abundant. In addition to fairy tales, historical figures, dignitaries and even people and things in daily life have become the objects of creation. According to the number of small dolls in the belly, dolls can be divided into five-piece sets, seven-piece sets, 12-piece sets, 15-piece sets and so on.
As for why lovely Russian wooden dolls are called dolls, there is a certain origin. Matrona and Matrosa are two very common female names in ancient Russian countryside. Scholars point out that these two names contain the Latin root "mater", which means mother. When people hear this name, it is easy to think of the mother in a huge peasant family, usually a strong and capable Russian woman, slightly obese and with many children. There are many small dolls hidden in the belly of fat wooden dolls, so matryoshka naturally became the name of beautifully carved and colorful wooden dolls.
There are two main reasons for the origin of pottery tile. First of all, it is said that the Russian people have two close relatives, and their cousins grew up together. Later, their cousins left other countries. Because I miss my brothers and sisters in my hometown, I continue to make wooden dolls every year, getting bigger every year. A few years later, I met my cousin and gave him a row of wooden dolls to express my thoughts. Later generations imitated and called it Taowa, also known as auspicious doll. Another legend is that thousands of years ago, a little boy lost his lovely little sister while herding sheep. He misses his little sister very much and takes one with him every day. A few years later, he felt that his sister should grow up and carved a wooden doll. Decades later, the little boy became a handsome young man, always carrying his woodcarving doll. He put these dolls together one by one, and opened them one by one when they were missing. Because it has such a beautiful legend, until now, in some parts of Russia, the tradition of boys giving dolls to girls still exists.
The production process of Russian dolls is very exquisite, and it needs to be hand-made through empty bronzing, shoe last inlaid with gold and other processes. From large to small, layered or arranged in rows, full of fun. Wood itself takes time to prepare. Lime trees, birch trees and bodhi trees are ideal wood for making dolls. Generally speaking, in early spring, trees are rich in juice. After being cut down, they are stripped of bark, leaving only a few circles of bark to prevent the wood from cracking, and then exposed to the air for ventilation.
If you want to make a medium-sized doll, you must work for two years, and if you want to make a doll with 15, the inner wall of each doll must be made very thin, which requires higher wood, usually for five to six years. Every doll has to go through 15 processes, and the size is not measured by tools. On the contrary, with the artists' feelings and experience, their unique hand-made designs make these dolls unique.
Doesn't that mean how happy you are, how expensive you are, and how many children do you have? Taowa has a profound meaning, expressing people's love and respect for family and country, as well as their yearning and pursuit of good feelings between people.
So far, Russian dolls are still very popular. Whether you go to Russia or other places in China in person, you will buy a set to take home, because the doll is not only a good partner for children, but also a unique Russian handicraft.