The Collapsible and The Modular

Nesting containers are an essential branch of modern collapsible design today. We see mixing bowls nested together in kitchens and the USPS use portable stacking storage totes to haul mail in bulk. However, the idea of nesting containers as a means of decoration and amusement has been well-pursued by the ever popular Russian Matryoshka (Матрёшка) nesting dolls.

Although these toys are widely considered to be traditional Russian handicrafts, they have only been in existence for about a hundred years. Even before the creation matryoshka, the notion of nesting dolls has been traced back to the Chinese creating nested storage boxes from around the year 1000. The very first set of matryoshka was designed by Russian artisan Sergey Malyutin around 1890, taking inspiration from Fukuruma, a Japanese wooden set of dolls, representing the seven Gods of Fortune. Craftsman Vasilu Zvyozdochkin is credited with carving this first eight figure set (above) with six female dolls, one boy, and an infant. The wife of Malyutin's patron, the industrialist Savva Mamontov, had such a fondness for the dolls that they were presented at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris. Following this, craftsmen began making the nesting dolls throughout Russia.

The Russian female personal name Matryona (Матрёна) is where the name for the dolls derives from. They are commonly made from the wood of the linden tree for its pliable yet durable nature, which aided in the creation of the dolls. Other woods that are well-used include lime and birch. The classic and most-identifiable matryoshkas depict on the largest doll a woman donning a sarafan, a common traditional dress for women. The following contained dolls within often are similar and are said to depict the common peasant family of 19th century Russia. Besides the traditional set of matryoshka, there have been many themes derived since, including Russian heads of state, famous entertainers, animals, and even fairy tales. There are also services that offer undecorated matryoshkas for people to freely create on their own.

Brian says…

Matryoshka dolls are an interesting example of collapsible design, because unlike most collapsibles, the act of uncollapsing is itself 'functional.' While it's a stretch to call something designed purely for amusement 'functional,' it should also be clear that amusement is the function of a toy. To this end, we see that while most collapsibles uncollapse simply as a means to an end (that is, transforming into a functional product), the matryoshka dolls are functional throughout this transformation. The joy is not just in the end result, but in every step of the nesting/unnesting process.