Ritual and play dolls are on display at the A.N. Radishchev Museum

An exhibition of decorative and applied art by the folk craftswoman Tatyana Pechyonova from the settlement of Chaadaevka, Gorodishchensky District, Penza Oblast, 'From Ritual to Play', has opened at the A.N. Radishchev Museum.

Visitors can see ritual and play dolls, as well as dolls in traditional status costumes restored by the artisan herself. Looking at these costumes, you realize how far removed we are from how people used to dress; many garment names, such as 'shushun', 'poneva', 'zipun', have fallen out of use.

During the exhibition's art pause visitors can learn about the history of Russian costume, which never had a uniform form. In each governorate and village people created their own distinctive ensemble of clothing with a unique design, allowing others to recognize where a person came from. Women's costume was especially 'telling'; each detail carried a specific meaning. From a costume one could determine a woman's social status: a girl ready for marriage; a betrothed woman; a molodukha (a woman in her first year of marriage); a mother. The most festive costume was worn only a few times a year for major holidays, so many carefully preserved items were passed down as heirlooms.

The exhibition also features toys made of clay. Among the exhibits are Dymkovo maidens and roosters, Kargopol figures: women in wide bell-shaped skirts, men with full beards, domestic and wild animals — horses, bears. A woman holding a bird recalls ancient images of Mother Earth, symbolizing fertility and abundance. Filimonovo ladies and cavaliers, noted for their distinctive painting, are also on display. In the past Filimonovo toys were given symbolic meaning: yellow was thought to represent air and the sun, red — warmth and beauty, green — spring and life.

On July 6, as part of the folk festival 'Tikhvin Fair', Tatyana Pechyonova will share her skills and hold a clay modeling master class.

To register for a tour of folk craftswoman Tatyana Pechyonova's solo exhibition 'From Ritual to Play' and for the master class, call: 8(84157)5-16-25.