Where did the concept and what is an arty doll come from? They were created in artels at the beginning of the twentieth century. Today, it is a common name used by craftsmen who recreate such beauties.

The Arthurian doll is not a maiden from the Cypress, and certainly not a Barbie. It is our history, captured by the doll artists of the 1920s.

A huge, amazing variety of types and some special plasticity and colourfulness peculiar to Russian technology. The optimistic "sound" of the characters evokes a sense of pride in the creations of Russian master artists.

Dolls in national costumes were made to order, for export. The costumes were as close as possible to the traditional forms of these clothes. The main consumers of art dolls were not children, but adults, who purchased them for utilitarian purposes. They were used for decorative purposes. Therefore, special attention was paid to artistic side of the dolls. In our country these dolls were hardly ever sold. They were produced for big international exhibitions in the USA and Europe.

More recently, our collectors have begun returning art dolls to their homeland.

Elena ElaginaShe is one of the few collectors to cover the history and nuances of the art doll. Thanks to her enthusiasm we have information about this marvellous and original doll.

Modern craftsmen create replicas of art dolls and thereby help us to discover what has been hidden and forgotten for almost 100 years.

Akulina and Grishka. A line from the author

I got to know art dolls a little over a year ago. There was no one to teach me how to make them. No one was giving master classes. There was very little information on the internet, and the information I could find was not entirely reliable.

The appearance of the doll is fascinating: the face, the emotions, the character and, of course, the outfit. The dolls are very "lively", leaving no one indifferent. As for the body of the doll, I had to deal with the fact that it was not the main focus. Some of the constructions are perplexing, made literally "at the knees". When you first look at the doll, you will never guess what's inside.

A country hottie. A big doll. A replica by the author

Ryazanka. A replica by the author

I managed to buy some original dolls. One of them had to be taken apart to understand how it worked. This helped me to record workshops on how to make replicas of these dolls. The further I get into the subject of harness dolls, the more I realise that the most interesting things are yet to come. Not all the designs have been studied yet, there's a lot of work ahead.

I couldn't find information on how many art dolls were made, how many were sold abroad, what they were like...

The dolls are textile, many have decayed over such a period, and those that remain are in the possession of collectors.

In articles published on the web, there is information that the dolls are up to 40 cm tall, but this information is not correct. Some dolls are up to 70 cm tall and there is no information about them, not even pictures on the Internet.

Large dolls from a private collection

There are many varieties of harp doll designs: wire-framed, stuffed, and cotter pin-jointed. All dolls are dressed in national costumes, their faces are hot-stamped, covered in Fildepers and painted by hand.

Sometimes art dolls, for a very small price, can be found at auctions.

Today, there are many different materials that can be used to create a doll that is as close to the original as possible.

We would like to introduce the general public to these amazing Russian beauties and continue the tradition of their creation.

Sonja. A line from the author

Neva. Author's replica

Tanka and Wanka. A line from the author

Everyone is welcome to attend the art doll making workshops, which can be found in the group VK.

Some of the photos are from public sources on the Internet.

Material prepared Varvara Ignatenko