| Russian Nesting Doll | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Unknown |
|
Type |
Matryoshka dolls |
|
Effects |
Creates repeating, unending duplicates that always fit within themselves |
|
Downsides |
Paints user face like a wooden figurine |
|
Activation |
Removing center pieces and stacking back |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 12 |
|
Section |
|
|
Date of Collection |
June 17, 1902 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Matryoshka dolls also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure, which separates at the middle, top from bottom, to reveal a smaller figure of the same sort inside, which has, in turn, another figure inside of it, and so on. Matryoshkas are often used metaphorically to represent an "object-within-similar-object" scenario of multiple layers of a repeating pattern.
Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan, a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress. The figures inside may be of any gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. Matryoshka dolls are often designed to follow a particular theme; for instance, peasant girls in traditional dress. Originally, themes were often drawn from tradition or fairy tale characters, in keeping with the craft tradition. Common themes of matryoshkas are floral and relate to nature. Often Christmas, Easter, and religion are used as themes for the doll.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s during Perestroika, freedom of expression allowed the leaders of the Soviet Union to become a common theme of the matryoshka, with the largest doll featuring then-current leader Mikhail Gorbachev. These became very popular at the time, affectionately earning the nickname of a Gorba or Gorby, the namesake of Gorbachev. With the periodic succession of Russian leadership after the collapse of the Soviet Union, newer versions would start to feature Russian presidents Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and Dmitry Medvedev.
This artifact was seen briefly during the tie-in novel A Touch of Fever in the midst of the totem pole chase.
Effects[]
Continues combining from one doll to the rest when opened and stacked back together. Even though they clearly differ in size, they will always be able to join back over another regardless of the original size order. Works as a never-ending case of storing itself as a recursive loop. Using for one loop, where each individual piece has been placed together, makes the user’s face and appearance resemble the painted wooden figures on each doll.