Name/Title
Mordovian matryoshka nesting set (5-piece), Yelnikovsky Woodworking CombineEntry/Object ID
2025.25.3Description
Five graduated turned-wood nesting dolls, hand-painted, running from a large hollow outer doll to a small solid innermost figure. The four smaller dolls carry the familiar scheme — a red headscarf framing a rosy-cheeked face, with floral/berry sprays and red, black, and green body banding. The largest (outer) doll is heavily worn: its surface is now a rubbed brown lacquer with remnant black horizontal bands and red at the foot, the original face and decoration largely effaced.Use
Displayed (closed) in the apartment of María T. CornideCollection
María Teresa Cornide Hernández collectionMade/Created
Manufacturer
Yelnikovsky Woodworking Combine / "DOK"Place
City
YelnikiCounty
Yelnikovsky DistrictRegion
Mordovian ASSR, Eastern EuropeCountry
U.S.S.R.Continent
EuropeNotes
Maker: Ельниковский деревообрабатывающий комбинат (Yelnikovsky Woodworking Combine / "DOK"), under the Ministry of (Local) Industry of the Mordovian ASSR (МП МАССР), per the base label.
Date: circa 1970s–1980s (tentative). The "Мордовская АССР" name gives a terminus ante quem of ~1990 (the republic was renamed in late 1990), and documented Yelnikovsky matryoshka production falls in the 1970s–80s. The label's date-of-issue field is obscured by a diagonal overstamp and not legible; the year is therefore unconfirmed, but the evidence places it within the collection range.
Place of Origin: Yelniki (Ельники), Yelnikovsky District, Mordovian ASSR, RSFSR, USSR.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Notes
Printed paper label on the outer doll's base: МП МАССР / Ельниковский ДО[К] / МАТРЁШКА / 5-ти предметная / Арт. 05— / Сорт 1 / Цена 4-20 / Дата выпуска —, with a black diagonal control overstamp obscuring the article number and date. (Ministry of [Local] Industry, Mordovian ASSR; Yelnikovsky Woodworking Combine; "Matryoshka," 5-piece; Article 05…; Grade 1; price 4 rubles 20 kopecks; date of issue illegible.)Parts
5 dolls, 4 of them made in two partsMaterials
Material
WoodMaterial Notes
Materials: Turned wood (likely linden/birch); hand-painted (tempera/gouache or aniline dyes); clear lacquer; paper label.
Technique: Lathe-turned hollow nesting forms (solid innermost); freehand hand-painting; lacquer finish.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Maria T. Cornide HernándezNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
usePlace
City
YelnikiCounty
Yelnikovsky DistrictRegion
Mordovian ASSR, Eastern EuropeCountry
U.S.S.R.Continent
EuropeNotes
productionResearch Notes
Notes
The Yelnikovsky Woodworking Combine was one of several Mordovian local-industry combines making matryoshki in the later Soviet period (with the Meltsansky, Krasnoslobodsky, and Tengushevsky works). Mordovian makers developed a regional style sometimes drawing on Mordovian ornament; the Yelnikovsky and Meltsansky combines produced Olympic-themed matryoshki for Moscow 1980, and Yelnikovsky dolls sold well to foreign visitors during that period.
Price 4 r. 20 k., Grade 1. The "Мордовская АССР" administrative form supports a pre-1990 date.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
October 20, 2025Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 14, 2026
