Wooden toy

Even the approximate date of the appearance of children's wooden toys is not known today. It is not known for certain from what material the first children's toy was made, but in ancient times children's toys in the form of figures were made of stone and bone, they were animal figures. Today, the most ancient toy found by archaeologists is a figurine made of mammoth bone and found in the territory of modern Czechia at the Brno-2 burial site. The age of this toy is estimated at about 30-35 thousand years. According to scientists, the toy found is not the very first toy, just a toy of a more respectable age has not yet been found.

Nevertheless, not only stone was the raw material for the manufacture of children's toys - wood, due to its plastic properties and ease of processing, was very often used in the manufacture of toys. The most ancient wooden children's toy - a doll , was found during excavations in Egypt . An ancient Egyptian girl doll found in a children's burial place is made of wooden planks, on top of which drawings symbolizing clothes were applied, on her head there were beads as hair. The approximate age of this doll is about 4000 years, today it is in the collection of the British Museum .

In the old days, toys made of wood were not always intended for children. Often wooden figures were used in various ceremonies and rituals, they were attributed a connection with otherworldly forces. In ancient Egypt, during the reign of the pharaohs, wooden dolls were laid next to the dead, it was believed that they accompanied their masters in the afterlife. Among the Slavs, a figurine depicting a person was considered a talisman from evil spirits, and the doll presented to the newlyweds during the wedding ceremony was the protector of the family hearth. As a rule, such dolls were made of wood.

In ancient Rome, toys made of wood were quite popular. Most often these were wooden dolls and animal figures. Wooden dolls were called “pupa” (doll, girl). Initially, the dolls of Ancient Rome were not much different from the Greek ones, just like the Greek ones; Roman dolls were produced without clothes. However, over time, they have developed their own characteristics. The most popular wooden toys in the Roman Empire were various figures - people, animals, especially horses and toy chariots. During the excavations of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii , a large number of perfectly preserved dolls and various figures were discovered.

In Eskimos, children's toys were created without a face, because it was believed that a toy with human features could harm or frighten a child. Over time, the toys acquired human features, and to emphasize the national color of the toy, it was painted or dressed in appropriate clothing.

At different times, each nation had its own wooden toy, with its own, national flavor. Almost every nation has a wooden toy symbolizing culture and associated with the country. Toys of different nations are distinguished by their characteristic facial features, paintings or clothes, for example: Russian nesting dolls , Japanese Kokeshi dolls , toys of various Indian tribes, African and European toys.

For different nations, the methods for making wooden toys could vary significantly. The craftsmanship of making toys has been studied all my life. Most often, aspen, birch, linden, pine or beech was chosen as the raw material for a wooden toy. Whole toys were cut out of chocks or logs, toys consisting of several interconnected parts were made from boards, they were less common. As a rule, craftsmen used an ax and a knife, sometimes a chisel, to work on toys.

It is believed that the history of wooden children's toys in Russia dates back to the 9th century. It was then that in the East Slavic tribes, for children, wooden toys for children were made for fun - nursery rhymes. The most popular types of nursery rhymes in Russia were whistles, figures and rattles. The rattles were amulets for newborn children, it was believed that the sound made by the rattle repels evil spirits.

However, the first written mention of a wooden children's toy comes much later, at the beginning of the 15th century. For a long period, the center for the manufacture of wooden toys was Sergiev Posad . Starting from the 15th century, workshops in the city and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra were engaged in woodcarving and its further turning. Wooden toys were painted and sold on the Sergiev Posad market, where merchants gathered. Sergiev Posad was considered a toy capital, toys from the workshops of the city reached the royal court. It is documented that in 1721 at the Moscow auction for children of Peter I , various toys of Posad craftsmen were bought - animal figures and sets of soldiers with miniature copies of houses. It is known that foreign merchants bought toys at the auction.

In the village of Bogorodskoye, also adjacent to Sergiev Posad, wooden toys were also made, however, unlike the monastery masters, the Bogorodskoye preferred not to paint the toys, but to emphasize the original wood pattern. Bogorodsk masters are known for original wood carvings, and local workshops are also known for making movable toys - flat figures fixed on a bar and having a balance, known as “Bogorodsk blacksmiths” ^[1] .

The industrial revolution seriously affected the wooden toy. The manual production of wooden toys was declining, while the number of toys made in factories was growing. At the beginning of the XVIII century in Europe, the industrial production of wooden toys was established, but the manual production of authentic national toys has been established so far. As a rule, today such toys are of interest to collectors. Due to the huge selection of toys made of wood, you can find a toy for any age, children and adults. Despite the large number of materials from which children's toys are made today, a wooden toy continues to be popular around the world.

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• Traditional Wooden Toys: Their History and How to Make Them Hardcover - 2006 Cyril Hobbins
• Gaston Camille Charles Maspero. Manual of Egyptian Archeology and Guide to the Study of Antiquities in Egypt
• Gaston Camille Charles Maspero. Project Gutenberg , 1971
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• Swedish Wooden Toys - 2014 Amy F. Ogata and Susan Weber
• Antique & Collectible Toys 1870-1950 - 1994 David Longest
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