Museum of Russian Icons Summer 2018 Newsletter MoRI_Summer_2018 web

NEWS
from the
MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN ICONS
Summer 2018
A Glittering Gift
The Franklin Sciacca Collection
This spring the Museum received
a remarkable gift of Russian folk
objects and Soviet-era holiday
ornaments from Franklin Sciacca,
Associate Professor of Russian
Languages and Literatures,
Hamilton College, NY.
The collection includes a variety
of whimsical and imaginative toys:
beautifully carved wooden toys with
moving parts; brightly painted clay toys
celebrating Russian and international
folk culture; and wind-up toys such as
monkeys performing flips and ducklings quacking
as they waddle. More contemporary plastic toys
depict characters from popular Russian cartoons or
celebrate the Soviet State. These marvelous objects
offer us a glimpse into the lives of Russian and Soviet
children, an avenue not previously explored by the
Museum.
wonderful examples of the craft at its onset.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the gift is the
collection of Soviet holiday ornaments that decorated
New Year trees in Soviet Russia. There are no angels
or religious themes among these ornaments. Rather,
they depict a variety of objects that were important to
both the average Russian citizen and the Soviet State.
These include folk heroes and cartoon characters,
funny clowns and chubby babies, state emblems and
objects that celebrate the productivity of farms and
factories.
This spectacular collection will be debuted in an
exhibition (opening in the fall of 2018) which will
explore the Soviet revival of the Russian New Year
holiday tradition.
Mr. Sciacca’s gift also includes nesting dolls that fill
gaps in the Museum’s matryoshka collection: several
contemporary political nesting dolls t ­ hat provide an
amusing abbreviated history of Soviet and Russian
leadership; and a number of early 20th century dolls,
at least one of which predates the Soviet Union. Such
dolls are difficult to find in good condition, and offer
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