KAZAKH DOLL-TOYS FROM THE FUNDS OF PETER THE GREAT MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY (KUNSTKAMERA) RAS

Abstract

St. Petersburg Kunstkamera item collections devoted to Kazakh traditional culture comprise 49 dolls. They are all dated late 19th — 1st half of the 20th centuries. Some of the dolls are, as it were, schematic, others, on the contrary, are made with care to detail, their miniature clothes reproducing not only the composition of the costume and its cut, but also its decorative elements, which allows to define who a certain doll represents: a maiden, a young married woman, a middle‑aged woman, a groom, or a child. The article aims to introduce these museum pieces as an ethnographic source for scientific use. The author describes the design features, the dolls' costumes, and their role in Kazakh every‑day and ritual culture.