Album B

In contrast to the Russian sets that are much more delicate, the Polish dolls as a group serve more as children’s toys than as objects of art. Made of pinewood, these dolls are spray painted in an overlapping fashion. The details are then added by hand. Most of the Polish sets are painted in this fashion. A protruding nose on the largest doll of a set is characteristic of this style. Unfortunately the toy factory that produced these sets has closed down, so Polish sets are going to become increasingly difficult to locate. The sets that were produced by the factory include the Sailors, the Maestro, Hansel and Gretel, the Egg sets, and the Grandmother set.

When the interest in nesting dolls was peaking (1988-1993), many other countries got into the act. Some countries, such as China, were prolific and produced dozens and dozens of styles. These were marketed cheaply by mail-order catalogs. Another country, with close ties to the old Soviet Union, was India, with whom exchange programs were set up. The production was village-quality and occasionally interesting and better than average.

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