Monthly Update

Russian Folk Art as Souvenirs Every person traveling around the world often questions: “what would be a good souvenirs to bring back home?” Now, of course your child is a best thing that you get from the country, but there are always things that you would like to give to your relatives and friends once you are back home. Here are several suggestions and historical background on some of most famous Russian Folk gifts that you can choose as souvenirs. Souvenirs that would be unique, beautiful and useful. You will be amazed with the variety of choice… Hohloma Hohloma wood painting is a unique ancient Russian folk craft. The birth-place of Hohloma is the forest area of Nizhny Novgorod region to the north-east of the river Volga. Hohloma is the name of a big village on the left bank of the Volga. From the earliest times masters who lived in that region made amazingly beautiful woodenware, and in the 17th century hohloma painting art was formed as a folk art phenomenon. The craft has gained world fame due to its original technique and the beauty of traditional Russian decorative patterns. Turned or carved with special chisels, articles made of limewood, are primed with clay, coated with "olifa" (boiled linseed oil), and then with powdered aluminium. After being silvered in this way, the objects are painted with refractory oil colours and then lacquered several times and tempered in ovens. The heat of 1000 makes the varnish yellow, turning "the silver" into "gold" and softening the bright colours of the painted ornament with an even golden tone. This technique makes hohloma articles, covered with paint and lacquer, absolutely safe. The main colours of Hohloma painting are black, red and golden. Brown, green, orange and yellow colours are added to this classical combination. Painting is done by hand with a free brush, without any stencils. The assortment list of hohloma woodware comprises bowls, vases, "postavoks" (cylindrical vessels with lids), barrels, spoons, as well as furniture, dinner and tea sets, wine sets, sets for honey, ice-cream, fish. Gzhel Gzhel is a region about 60 kilometers south east of Moscow, and is the area where the famous blue and white pottery of the same name is produced. Gzhel pottery was first mentioned in 1339 which is considered to be the official date of the craft's birth. At this time Gzhel artisans produced plain and enameled pottery and toys, but in the second half of the eighteenth century they mastered the art of majolica. Gzhel majolica is the first page in the history of Russian ornamented folk ceramics. It included scenes of villages, birds, and animals with flowers and trees. They made figures and decorative objects as well as tableware which commonly included pitchers, jugs, salt cellars, plates, and ink pots. Pitchers in the shape of a double-headed eagle were popular. The jugs were typically a doughnut shaped form with a hole in the middle, mounted on four lion's paws. They had scroll shaped handles and spouts, and often had three-dimensional figures and vines playing about the handle, neck and spout. Today the Gzhel factory produces mostly a kind of ceramic, in blue and white. The combination of the white background with the blue design, decorated mostly with a floral pattern, is a distinctive feature of Gzhel pottery. Each piece is hand painted so you can always be sure that your piece of Gzhel will never be exactly like anyone else's. Rostovskaya Finift Rostov enamels come from the Golden Ring town of Rostov the Great in the Yaroslavl region of Russia, where, the artisans originally made miniature enamelled icons. The craftsmen of the Rostovskaya Finift factory still carry on the tradition of their 18th century counterparts, but today the designs are of a secular nature, consisting of flowers, folk tales and songs, and miniature landscape paintings. These enamels are incorporated into jewelry, miniature boxes, and placques, with delicate metalwork scrolls and flowers framing them. Pavlovo Posad shawls When you mention "Pavlovo Posad shawls" the image of a babushka in a bright, smart and big kerchief with floral motif appears. They are produced in the ancient Russian town Pavlovsky Posad. Each shawl is teamwork of many talented artists, who pass the ancient traditions from generation to generation and make new design compositions. These items are called "Pavlovo Posad" as they are created in the traditional Pavlovo Posad style. Flowered fancy pattern is designed in golden green and blue colors. Since ancient times kings and queens worn and used shawl as a warm garment. These shawls would make a lovely gift for your mother, grandmother or yourself! In the past in Russia a presented shawl had a special meaning: if a young man gave to woman shawl he had serious intention to marry her. When a son gave to his mother a shawl it was a meaning of respect of love to his mother. Orenburg lacy knitted shawls These shawls are made of finest goat down and they are very soft and warm. That is why these Orenburg woolen shawls are so popular in cold Russia. There are Orenburg hand-knitted shawls made of finest yarn and they are called pautinka – a spider-web. There are other Orenburg knitted shawl made of thicker goat down yarn and these shawls are very warm. All these shawls are hand-made of goat down yarn and there is not one similar, each shawl has its own pattern. Orenburg shawls can be a perfect blanket for your baby or a beautiful addition for woman evening dress. Matryoshka The matryoshka is the most famous Russian souvenir. It is considered to be a unique phenomenon in the world culture that has a meaning of its own. It's a symbol of Russian folk art. But a famous predecessor and prototype of Russian matryoshka was brought to Russia from the Island of Honshu. It was a figurine of a good-natured bold headed old man, Buddhist sage by the name of Fukuruma. The doll contained some other figurines nested inside one another. Also it seems, that matroyshka nesting doll has come to us from antiquity, from the world of legends and fairy tales. Actually this wooden doll is about hundred years old. The first Russian nesting doll (matryoshka) was created in 1890 in the workshop "Children's Education" situated in Abramtsevo estate new Moscow. Russian wooden dolls within smaller dolls were called matryoshka. In old Russian among peasants the name Matryona or Matriosha was a very popular female name. Scholars says this name has a Latin root "mater" and means "Mother". This name was associated with the image of a mother of a big peasant family who was very healthy and had a portly figure Learn to Speak Russian to Your Child: Gift/ present – подарок – [padarok] Do you like it? – тебе нравится? – [tebe nravitsya?] I like it! – мне нравится– [mne nravitsya] beautiful – красиво – [krasivo] thank you – спасибо – [spasiba] Please – пожалуйста– [pazhalusta] .

Load more