Folk clay toys from Russia

Mother with many children Dymkovo doll, 1960-70s, All-Russian Decorative Art Museum, Moscow

One of the cutest souvenirs one can bring home from Russia is a ceramic folk toy. There is a variety of them but the most lively and most poplar toys are from Vyatka. They are called Dymkovo toys because originally they were produced in Dymkovo Sloboda village. The Dymkovo toy is nearly five hundred years old. The figurines were traditionally made by women and children working together in family units dividing the work according to the skill required for each step. Each person specialized in a particular part of the body or accessories. All parts were joined together and the seams rubbed with a damp rag or a wet finger and then the figures were set aside to dry for several days.