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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Beautiful Russian Nesting Doll Set

Set of 5 Matryoshka by Svetlana Lukina

Doll artist, Svetlana Lukina, is currently offering a one-of-a-kind authentic, wooden Russian nesting doll set in her Etsy shop. The set includes hand-painted Victorian children with scenic images on the back. They range in size from 2 to 7 inches.  This is the artist's first Russian Matryoshka doll set that represents brown-skinned children.

For additional information and/or to purchase before the sale ends, please visit the buy page for this beautiful set of five dolls.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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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.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Layla's Necklaces

Layla by Svetlana Lukina is shown as she was dressed and accessorized by the artist, photograph courtesy of the artist.

First seen here after her January 2018 arrival, Layla is an Izannah Walker/Martha Chase-inspired doll by Russian doll artist, Svetlana Lukina.  When the doll was shipped from Russia to me, the artist inadvertently forgot to include Layla's handmade necklace in the shipping package.  Layla is shown wearing the necklace in the photograph above, which was taken by the artist.

Svetlana kindly sent the necklace under separate cover along with a box of delicious handmade chocolates.  I could smell the cocoa and butter when I opened the package.  A postcard with an image of Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral was also included in the package.

Prior to the arrival of her original necklace, Layla has worn, at different times, two others, which are shown below:

Layla wore this bracelet as a necklace first because it matches the colors of her dress.  The one huge bead was distracting, so...

... the largest bead of the "necklace" (shown in the previous photo) was later positioned to the back.

This second necklace is a Chakra bracelet that Layla wore until her original handmade necklace arrived.

Layla's original necklace contains several brown and gold beads threaded onto a green ribbon.  The brown beads match her handmade earrings.

We are both happy to have her accessories complete and matching.

Thank you again, Svetlana, for your kindness, consideration, and generosity!

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Svetlana was introduced in an artist's profile here.  She maintains her own blog about her doll art and beautiful doll photography, which is written in Russian but can be translated into different languages.

Visit her Etsy shop where she sells her one-of-a-kind Izannah Walker-style dolls.

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Exclusive Offer to Readers of Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black

***Exclusive offer to the readers of Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black from Svetlana Lukina***

Read the offer in the comment here.


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A Dark Beauty From Russia With Love

18-inch papier mâché doll made with love by Svetlana Lukina

Before going on a self-imposed 30-day doll-buying fast, the opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind Izannah Walker/Martha Chase-inspired doll presented itself on January 2, 2018.  Made by skillful doll artist, Svetlana Lukina, my first doll purchase of 2018 arrived from Russia on January 16, 2018.

One corner of the doll's shipping box was covered with Russian postage stamps

As always, I waited for the perfect box opening moment so my new-doll bonding and photographing time would not be interrupted by anything or anyone.  Because of the Russian postage stamps, which my husband was fascinated by, I photographed the box prior to opening and cut away the stamps, still attached to the cardboard box, and gave that part of the box to my husband.  He wanted one stamp of the three different monetary values, but was only able to remove one.

Close-up of her beautiful face

I removed the bubble wrap that had been carefully wrapped around the 18-inch doll, gazed upon her delightful face, and thought, "She is more beautiful than I had imagined."  With painted brown eyes, full nose and lips, brown hair made from sheepskin with texture that mimics that of natural Africanoid hair, papier mâché head, arms, legs; and firmly-stuffed cloth body, she is perfect from head to toe.  The main color of her exquisitely sewn dress is peach, which is also my favorite color.  There is a matching head wrap, shown below. The overskirt of the dress is multicolored.  She wears an off-white undergarment.  Accessories of beaded earrings and beaded anklet complete her costume.

She can stand with the assistance of a doll stand or sit as shown in the first and final photos of this post.

Her dress buttons in the back and has a brocade ribbon waistband.

Off-white undergarment is lace trimmed.  A portion of her beaded anklet is visible in this photo.

Fingers and...

... toes are separately stitched.  A better view of her anklet is shown here.

The back of her breastplate bears the artist's name.

Her beautifully designed hang tag provides the artist's contact information.

The soft hair has a nice curl pattern.

Sculpted ears are adorned with earrings.

Fabric used to create head wrap was neatly folded inside the shipping box.

Original headwrap fashioned by Svetlana

I could not recreate the turban-style headwrap, so I opted for the more modern headwrap as illustrated here and in the following photos.

The headwrap almost completes her look.

Before introducing her to a few new vintage-to-modern doll friends, I added a multicolored beaded necklace that picks up the colors in her dress.  This necklace is only temporary until one that better matches her earrings and anklet is found.

As illustrated in this final photograph, she has settled in nicely with friends who have welcomed her warmly.

Unnamed by the artist, I have chosen the Egyptian/Arabic name Layla, which means dark beauty.

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I "met" Svetlana Lukina online in 2017 after learning of her generous two-doll donation to the National Black Doll Museum of History and Culture in Mansfield, Massachusetts.  We communicated about the dolls on Facebook and I offered to share her artist profile with the readers of Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.  That profile can be read here.

Svetlana maintains a blog about her doll art and beautiful doll photography.  Her blog is written in Russian but can be translated into different languages.

She sells her one-of-a-kind Izannah Walker-style dolls on Etsy.

Links:
Who Was Izannah Walker?
Charming example of a late 1800s Black Izannah Walker doll
Lovely circa 1890s Black Martha Chase doll

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Svetlana Lukina's Black Dolls on EEoDiB

Black Dolls by Svetlana Lukina were inspired by the works of doll artists, 

Ella Smith and Martha Chase, respectively.

Russian doll artist, Svetlana Lukina, shares information about her black dolls in a post published on my sister blog, Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black, which can be read here.

I hope you will enjoy seeing her dolls and learning about her doll-making process.  She welcomes your comments and opinions, which should be posted on the sister blog.  Thank you for reading.


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Check out my eBay listings here.