Authentic Russian Nesting Dolls by Svetlana Lukina

Set of 5 Matryoshka dolls by Svetlana Lukina, photograph courtesy of the artist

I wrote about this Matryoshka set in April 2019 here and posted the above photo on my Instagram page with the caption, "Not mine, but I wish they were."  I must have spoken this set into existence into my collection that day.

As blessings would have it, I was able to purchase the artist's first nesting dolls that feature brown-skinned Victorian-era children in June of this year.  They arrived from Russia on July 22, 2019, and are more magnificent in person than I could have ever imagined!

Much larger than I had realized initially, they range from 2-to-7 inches.  In addition to the brown-skinned children on the front, draperies are painted on the back of all except the second doll, which has a beautiful field scene.  I have attempted to capture the front and back of each doll and have also included comparison photos to illustrate the size of this set.

The unnested set is shown with a blank set of nesting dolls.  This set is twice the size of the blank set (the largest doll shown, in the blank set, is 4 inches tall).

The unnested set is shown in a size comparison with Madame Alexander's 8-inch Africa doll.

The front of dolls 1 through 5 is shown here.

Nesting dolls from the back

The following pictures are individual photos of the dolls from the front and back in side-by-side angles.

Doll 1, front and back

Doll 2 from the front, back, and side

Doll 3, front and back

Doll 4, front and back

Doll 5, front and back

Again, they are magnificent works of art!  A machine-created Russian nesting doll set in any size is no comparison to an individually hand-painted, one-of-a-kind set by a Russian artist!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Svetlana Lukina sells her dolls through Etsy here.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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1st Look @ Rosa Parks Barbie

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First official look at the Rosa Parks Barbie doll. Rosa Parks Barbie® Doll wears a floral dress under a smart wool coat. Included are glasses, gloves, a pillbox hat, and clutch accessories. Face sculp: Pazette #papusilemele #barbie #barbiedolls #barbiecollector #barbiesignature #barbiefashionistas #2019barbie #barbieblogger #barbienews #dollblogger #dollnews #dollcollector #dollygram #dollphotography #dollphoto #dollphotooftheday #dollphotography #dollcommunity #dollstagram #barbiegram #mattel #rosaparks

A post shared by Papusile Mele (@papusilemele) on Aug 26, 2019 at 7:03am PDT

It's obvious that Mattel did not create a new head sculpt for the Rosa Parks Barbie, but I am thrilled that this historical icon is being honored.

More pictures and to preorder (the doll is scheduled to ship on September 6, 2019) navigate here.

The Sally Ride Barbie is available to preorder here.

Update 08/27/19:  The Rosa Parks Barbie was briefly on backorder status yesterday, but now the doll seems no longer available to even backorder at Barbie.mattel.com, where "find at retail" is indicated on the buy page.  Keep checking their site and also with authorized Barbie retailers.  I knew the doll would be popular with collectors as well as non-collectors.  This quick one-day preorder sellout is proof.

Update 08/30/19:  Try ordering through Walmart.com.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Fashionistas 123, 125 and Travel Teen Nikki Redressed

Fashionistas 123, 125 and Travel Teen Nikki, deboxed

The two Fashionistas (123 and 125) and Travel Teen Nikki (identified in a previous post initially as You Can Be Anything Artist Barbie) have returned deboxed, as shown above.  They are seen redressed later in this post along with one additional doll. 

Fashionista 123
Let's take a look at her hair before the redress.

Her honey-blonde microbraids are closely rooted throughout her entire head.

She's lying flat on her face with her braids spread out just to illustrate the density.

Since none of my Fresh dolls with braids have been deboxed, #123 took this closeup against Froggy Fresh's box.  Their braids are quite similar in thickness and appear to be the same texture.

123's Redress

With a pair of red high-heels on, she tried on this paisley-print tunic, which can be worn optionally as a dress.  Her ears were pierced and a pair of drop earrings inserted.

123 preferred wearing the tunic with her red wet-look skirt, which creates a nicely pulled-off look.

Fashionista 125

Immediately freed from the box, #125 took a close-up photo of her lovely face.  I love the soft texture of her hair, which feels almost like mohair.

She tried on this yellow one-shouldered dress and loved it!

The yellow dress accentuates her curves, enhances her lovely ebony complexion, and complements her purple hair.

Her hair extends just above her bottom in a modestly layered cut.

She accessorized the yellow dress with yellow stud earrings (which are really quilting needles), a lavender shoulder bag, and lavender Sparkle Girlz strappy high-heel shoes.  Psst!  The mauve (it's not really pink) lip color doesn't look too awful now, but I still decided to repaint her lips.

The first paint I used to change her lip color is supposed to be maroon.

So the first lip color choice of maroon acrylic paint turned out to be more red than maroon; it clashes with her other current colors (purple, lavender, and yellow).  Because I do not want her to be all lips when you look at her (and I definitely do not want her to appear to be in blackface) she needed a more subtle, neutral lip color to match her complexion, hair color, and anything she decides to wear.

More neutral lip color

On the second attempt at painting her lips, I used a mixture of brown, caramel, and raw sienna to tone the lip color down.

These side-by-side headshots illustrate the original mauve lip color, the so-called maroon color, and the final toned down neutral color, which isn't perfect but it is much better than the first two.

Travel Teen Nikki and CeeCee (Cheerful Check)

Travel Teen Nikki is shown in a close-up photo after she was released from her box.

I love Travel Teen Nikki's Afro puffs.  Recall that she was purchased to wear the blue plaid school uniform seen here.  Initially, I was going to dress Fashionista #93 (Nia) in the red plaid uniform, but I had a change of heart.  I like what Nia is wearing now and decided, since CeeCee (Cheerful Check/Fashionista 80) has Afro puffs, too, she'd pair well with Travel Teen Nikki if she wore the red plaid uniform.

So here they are together.

Travel Teen Nikki and CeeCee are ready for school in their uniforms and matching headbands.

The length of the uniforms is a little too long for my liking, but I'll leave the length as is as the results of my hemming a pleated dress would be disastrous.  I made composition tablets for the girls.  Nikki wears a pair of petite flat Mary-Jane-style Barbie shoes while CeeCee wears a slightly-too-wide-for-her-narrow-feet pair of Blythe kitten heels.  Like Fashionista 125, both girls had their ears pierced with quilting pins and wear these as blue and white stud earrings, respectively.  I added a blue ribbon necktie to Nikki's shirt.

Nia joins Nikki and CeeCee.

Since Nia was mentioned and because her Sparkle Girlz fashion looks like a school uniform, she wanted to take a picture with Nikki and CeeCee.  Yes, these girls are ready to continue their studies.

In the final photo, the three newest girls pose together after being redressed.

Final photo of redressed Fashionistas 123, 125, and Travel Teen Nikki

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for following, commenting, and sharing using the share button below.

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Circa 1960s Doll Made in England

This 1960s black doll made in England arrived with most of the paint missing from her eyelids as illustrated in this photo.

The eBay seller described her as a 14-inch 1950s black doll.  The seller's measurement was off by an inch as the doll is actually 13 inches tall.  She appears to be more of a 1960s rather than 1950s doll to me.

She has separate fingers and dimpled elbows and knees.  Her toes are fused together.

She was fully dressed upon arrival, but because I had to repaint her eyelids, I removed her clothing.

She has black rooted hair, which is still silky and uncut, styled in a bubble cut.  For her eyelid color, I used a mixture of burnt umber and a few drops of black acrylic paint by FolkArt to match the color of the doll's vinyl complexion.  The eyelids have been repainted in this photo.

With eyelids successfully repainted, her clothes, socks, and shoes were put back on.

This little girl arrived wearing what appears to be her original clothing of a pale blue dress that has a pointed white organdy, lace-trimmed collar.  The point of the collar is embellished with three flowers.  She wears white pantaloons, white knee socks, and white vinyl baby booties with mock laces.

With two snaps, her dress closes in the back.

Except for her eyelids, she is in almost perfect condition (the almost is because she was obviously preloved by someone prior to arriving here).

I am pleased with the transaction except the doll's seller took a chance on shipping her in two bubblewrap envelopes!  I am thankful that she arrived safely in spite of this carelessness.

Other than being marked on her neck, "Made in England," I do not know anything else about her circa 1960s origin.  If anyone recognizes her (manufacturer, name, exact year made, etc.), please let me know.  In the meantime, I have named her Petra.

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If my 1960s assumption of her origin is true, Petra might have entered the market around the time Toni Morrison began writing her first novel, The Bluest Eye*.  (According to Morrison, the story originated in 1962; it began as a book in 1965 and was published in 1970.) After the recent death of this Pulitzer and Nobel-Prize-winning author, I reread The Bluest Eye and almost named Petra after the protagonist in the book.  Pecola, who was described as an 11-year-old, very dark-skinned, ugly, very much unloved girl, assumed if she had blue eyes she would become beautiful and loved.  Because of Pecola's lifelong abuses from just about everyone with whom she came in contact, the worst of which occurred at age 12, I decided against naming the doll after her.  So Petra remains Petra.

*I "borrowed" The Bluest Eye from my husband after the following conversation ensued.
Me:  Do you have The Bluest Eye?
Him:  Yes.  He retrieves it from a bookshelf, hands it to me, pretends to swipe it on his desk and says, You have 10 days.  Late fees will be assessed.
Me:  I don't need 10 days.  Oh, and by the way, did you know the library no longer charges late fees?  I read The Bluest Eye in two days.  I could have read it in one, but my mind needed rest between the distressful lives of every character, Pecola's more tragically distressful than all.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Nathaniel Doll's Redress

16-inch doll by Nathaniel

Recall that I used a gold lamé scarf to fashion a dress for the 16-inch all-vinyl doll by Nathaniel, shown above.  At the time of my previous post, I had not yet decided on a name for the doll.   I have since named her Ayanna after U.S. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

When I ordered Ayanna's gold lamé Roman sandals, I also ordered a long-sleeved dress for her from a different seller.  The dress finally arrived.  It fits her perfectly as illustrated by the following photos.

The dress has 3/4 length bell sleeves

She wears it with her copper jewelry.  Her necklace gets a little lost in the pattern of the dress.

The necklace can be seen somewhat better in this photo.

The dress has a Velcro closure in back.

Ayanna has decided to replace the gold lamé wrap dress with the brown print dress.  She continues to wear her gold sandals, headscarf, and as mentioned, her copper earrings and necklace.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Fashionistas 123, 125, and You Can Be Anything Nikki

Barbie Fashionistas 123, 125, and You Can Be Anything Travel Doll Nikki

These three Barbies, Barbie Fashionistas 123 and 125 and You Can Be Anything Travel Doll Nikki were purchased between May and June of this year for different reasons.

You Can Be Anything Travel Doll Nikki and Uniforms

Barbie school uniforms

In May, I purchased two cute schoolgirl uniforms with matching headbands from Instagramer, @thedauhlhouse.  I already had a doll in mind for the smaller of the two fashions, but needed one for the blue plaid uniform.

Because of her Afro puffs, You Can Be Anything Travel Doll Nikki Barbie will eventually wear the blue plaid uniform as soon as additional "doll play" time presents itself.  Later, she and the other doll designated for the red plaid uniform will both return to model these.  Below are Nikki's still-in-the-box photos.

You Can Be Anything Travel Doll Nikki is part of the Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures animated series that can be watched on NetFlix.  She has dark brown hair styled in two Afro puffs.  She wears a green dress with floral print at the bottom and orange high-top sneakers.  

Here is a closer look at her lovely face.

Nikki's accessories include a pink camera, a purple travel cup, a case of paints, a paintbrush, and a tote bag.

Fashionista #123

Fashionista 123

I wanted this girl because of her microbraids which are done rather decently.  She will probably appreciate a fashion change soon, too.  I like her "girl power" tank top, and the style of the red "wet look" skirt is nice, but I think I can find something better for her to wear.  The lavender boots will definitely be replaced.  More pictures of this doll taken before deboxing are next:

She has a lovely face.  I like her dark lip color, and I look forward to examining her braids more closely.

Her graphic T-shirt has "Girl Power" written on top with an image of a cyclist underneath.

Her only accessory is a goldtone bangle.

As indicated, she wears lavender high-top sneakers.

Fashionista #125

Fashionista 125

I wanted this doll because of her ebony complexion and the fact that this is the first doll, to my knowledge, that uses the curvy body, an ebony complexion, and purple hair.

Stock photo of the Fashionista 125 prototype

I believe Fashionista 125 uses a new head sculpt as well.  The skin tone and hair color combinations are definitely a first for Mattel.  I am not at all enamored by the floral-print lamé romper she wears but her black box-heel mules are fashion up-to-date.  Perhaps I'll ask Instagramer @laylee.m.doll.clothes  to make something for her soon.  She finds the most unique fabrics and I am sure she will be able to whip something up that will complement #125's complexion and hair color.  Below are more pictures of the actual doll.

This is another full-view photo of the actual doll.

I am not a fan of pink lip color on dolls with this complexion, so I am sure I will tone it down once she is released.

Full-view profile

Her black box-heel mules can be seen a bit better in this photo.

All three dolls will be back after their redresses along with the fourth doll that I plan to redress in the red plaid school uniform.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for following, commenting, and sharing using the share button below.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
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