Russia
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Inspired by a Russian fairy tale, 32-inch Vasilisa the Wise, a solid-body porcelain doll, has a human-hair wig and hand-blown glass eyes. Her sleeve openings are wide, bell-shaped as the fairy tale claims her magic was born of the corridors of her sleeves. An exotic Russian kokoshnik crowns her head. Limited edition of five. |
By Marianne Clay
A small, rustic, and extravagantly costumed Russian doll gave Stacia McDonough an idea that has taken hold of her life. Why not, Stacia thought as she held the doll, produce a line of quality, authentic Russian dolls and bring the lovely, traditional Russian style of dolls to America and the rest of the world? Today, only six years after she received a little Russian doll, Stacia owns and operates Neva Dolls, a company that makes traditional Russian dolls in Russia.
A lifelong doll collector, Stacia had already been making dolls for more than 15 years when she received the life-changing doll. "Making dolls was a hobby of mine," Stacia explains, "I grew up in a family of artists, so fortunately, artistic expression was always encouraged." She was also knowledgeable of the import-export business through her family's lumber company.
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Elena the Fair, 32 inches, is a solid-body porcelain doll. This doll has a human-hair wig and hand-blown glass eyes and wears a costume prevalent in Russia from the 9th-18th century, including a full-length sarafan (jumper) over the traditional rubakha (chemise) with a kokoshnik (headdress) crowning her head. |
Soon after receiving her little Russian doll, Stacia traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, to tour the city's prestigious doll factory. To her dismay, she discovered the factory was no longer making the quality porcelain dolls it once did. Instead, the factory was turning out inexpensive, souvenir-type dolls. Now convinced her idea was really needed, Stacia braved the labyrinthine channels of Russian bureaucracy to start her own company to create and import fine, handcrafted porcelain dolls from Russia. By 1999, Neva Dolls was officially incorporated.
Today Stacia makes at least four trips a year to the Neva Dolls studio in St. Petersburg. "St. Petersburg has been so shined up for its 300th jubilee that I wish everyone could come over to visit us there. All of our doll molds are custom-crafted, as we feel strongly about preserving the time-honored tradition of old-world doll crafting. The art of handcrafting dolls is passed down through the generations. In Russia, in the past, this style of porcelain dolls was only afforded to the royals and very wealthy families, as children of average-income parents played with homemade dolls."
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Olga, 24 inches, wears a crescent-shaped headdress, or kokoshnik, embellished with elaborate beadwork. Her lone braid shows she is available for marriage. One of a kind. |
The staff of Neva Dolls consists entirely of women who learned doll making from their mothers, who learned the art from their mothers. "We strive to design a diverse selection of dolls so we are able carry something for everyone," Stacia says. "This latest collection of full-body porcelain is a collaboration between my myself and Neva Dolls' head designer, Sveta Mironovskaya. Sveta and I both adore creating characters from the whimsical Russian fairy tales. It is like the magic transcends the story and is instilled in the doll."
The first in the fairy tale series, Elena the Fair, was released this past spring. Newest to this series is Vasilisa the Wise, a doll based on the maiden from the Russian fairy tale "The Frog Princess," about a Tsar and his three sons' quests for finding a bride to carry on their line.
"The story goes," Stacia says, "that the Tsar directed his sons to shoot an arrow into the sky, and wherever this arrow lands they would find their bride. When the youngest son, Tsarevitch (Prince) Ivan went to search for his arrow, he discovered it in the mouth of a bullfrog. Ivan asked for his arrow back, and the frog replied, 'Only if you marry me for I am your bride-to-be.' Ivan carried the frog back to the palace and suffered many taunts from his brothers, who had been blessed with attractive brides. Then, the ugly frog is transformed into the most beautiful princess in all the land. Not only was Vasilisa beautiful, but she also was wise and possessed magical talents."
Like in all good fairy tales, Vasilisa and Ivan lived happily ever after. And to make collectors almost as happy, Neva Dolls is including the four-volume RUSSIA, Land of the Tsars, a 200-minute documentary filmed in Russia, with the purchase of Vasilisa the Wise or Elena the Fair.
Every doll from Neva comes with its story and a certificate of authenticity. If ever an unfortunate accident occurs, a doll doctor, Kathleen Robbiani of Marlboro, N.J., can repair the doll.
Says Stacia, "My ultimate objective is to give the American public an authentic historical insight and to guide them on an extraordinary journey through Russia's remarkable past. When collectors purchase a doll, they are actually purchasing a piece of Russia, fit for a tsarina."
