On September 3, a postage stamp dedicated to the Dymkovo toys was put into postal circulation in the Decorative and Applied Arts of Russia series

Dymkovo toys are one of the oldest folk clay artistic craftwork. It originated more than 400 years ago in the commercial settlement of Dymkovo (presently, one of the districts of the city of Kirov). These bright funny figures, as if painted by a child's hand, have become a recognizable symbol of Russian national culture.

The appearance of such toys is associated with spring holiday Svistunya (Whistler Girl), for which the female population moulded clay whistles. The most common subjects were nannies with children, water carrier girls, rams with golden horns, turkeys, roosters, reindeer, young men, skomorokhs, and barinas. Traditionally, in order to create a toy, use was made of Vyatka bright red clay, which was mingled with fine brown river sand. After that, it was dried and fired in a hot burning-in oven. The festive look was created by painting patterns on a chalky white background in the form of geometric ornaments based on various compositional schemes: cells, stripes, circles, dots. Painting was made with a contrasting color scheme of red, yellow, blue and green. In the old days, toys were painted with tempera colors mixed with eggs and kvass, using sticks and feathers instead of brushes. Then they were covered again with a whipped egg, which imparted luster and brightness to insipid colors. Today, aniline dyes and soft saber-hair brushes are used for painting. The decoration of the toy is completed by dicing made of mosaic gold or gold leaves glued on top of the pattern.

Over the time of its existence and development, this craft has developed certain themes and plots, and expressive means inherent in soft plastic red pottery clay have gained a foothold. All patterns are indicative, they are connected with nature and talismans; they symbolize beauty, truth and health.

The stamp shows a composition of several characters traditional for Dymkovo toys.

In addition to the issue of the postage stamp, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, Kirov, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Tomsk as well as a maxi-card and an illustrated cover with a tête-bêche, a label and a First Day Cover with a cancel for Moscow inside.


Design Artist: V. Vatolina; Design:V. Zatologina.
Face value: 22 rubles.
Stamp size: 35×35×50 mm, sheet size: 168×168 mm.
Emission form: a sheet with formatted margins with 18 (9 tête-bêche) stamps.
Quantity: 396 thousand stamps (22 thousand sheets).

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