Name/Title
Soviet wooden figures, Старик со старухой (Old Man and Old Woman)Entry/Object ID
2025.25.1Description
A pair of lathe-turned and carved wood figures seated on a shared slatted bench, depicting an elderly couple winding red yarn between them. The man (left) is bareheaded with a turned dome of reddish-brown hair, a smiling painted face, a peasant tunic with a small blue collar device, and blue-striped trousers; he holds a skein winder. The woman (right) wears a tall blue headdress painted with orange dots, has rosy cheeks and downcast eyes, and clasps a ball of red yarn against a barrel-form skirt banded in red and brown. A length of red thread links his winder to her yarn ball.Use
Displayed in the María T Cornide's house.Collection
María Teresa Cornide Hernández collectionMade/Created
Manufacturer
Fábrica "Luch"Date made
1984Time Period
1980sPlace
City
MoscowCountry
U.S.S.R.Region
Eastern EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
Date: 1984 (label: ОТК — quality-control acceptance — month 10, 1984).Inscription/Signature/Marks
Location
BottomTranscription
МОСROPНCЛOAKOM
ШВЕЙНЫХ ИЗАВЛИЙ
Ф KA
Нанманование изделия
СТАРИК СО СТАРУХОЙ
Артикул СМГ-2026 а
PCT РСФСР 565-77
Сорт І. Цена 2р 50к
1984 r.
МОСКВАН КРАСНОВЕЛЬСКАЯ 5Language
RussianNotes
Printed paper label on the underside of the bench. Maker emblem: МОСГОРИСПОЛКОМ / управление спец. пром. предприятий, использующих труд инвалидов / ШВЕЙНЫХ ИЗДЕЛИЙ / Ф-КА «ЛУЧ» (with wheat-sheaf device). Below: Наименование изделия — СТАРИК СО СТАРУХОЙ ("Old Man with Old Woman"); Артикул СМГ-2026 а; ГОСТ РСФСР 565-77; Сорт I. Цена 2 р. 50 к. (Grade I, 2 rubles 50 kopecks); ОТК 10 1984 г.; Москва, Н. Красносельская, 5. Painted blue device on the man's tunic; no other marks.Materials
Material
Wood, ThreadMaterial Notes
Materials: Turned and carved softwood (pine/birch), hand-painted decoration (aniline/gouache type), wound red yarn/thread, paper label.
Technique: Lathe-turned and assembled wood components; hand-painted; mechanical action linkage at the base; applied yarn detailing.Condition
Overall Condition
Very GoodRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Maria T. Cornide HernándezNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
usePlace
City
MoscowCountry
U.S.S.R.Region
Eastern EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
productionResearch Notes
Notes
The label places manufacture within Mosgorispolkom's directorate of "special industrial enterprises using the labor of the disabled" — a Soviet sheltered-employment system. The "Luch" garment factory produced this wooden toy as a non-core sideline (the masthead category is швейных изделий, sewing goods).Notes
Старик со старухой winding yarn is a domestic folk-genre subject; the two-figure mechanism descends from the Bogorodsk / Russian moving-toy tradition.Notes
ГОСТ РСФСР 565-77 is the 1977 RSFSR state standard for the product class; retail 2 r. 50 k.; article SMG-2026a.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
October 20, 2025Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 14, 2026
