Panka doll

Russians

European North of Russia, Arkhangelsk province, Arkhangelsk district, Yarenga district, village

19th century

Wood; polish

РЭМ 2317-6

The panka is carved out of one piece of wood; it is a simplified female figure with a large head on a massive neck; the arms and breasts are outlined as bulges; a round base is provided instead of legs; a flat face is inside a round frame; carved are eyes, a nose, a mouth, and a brace-shaped straight plait against the neck; pokered stripes and circles serve as decorations and outlines of details. Such archaic dolls were installed in earlier times as averters on crossroads, and placed in the God’s corner, to the icons; as time went by, the lost their magic meaning becoming children’s toys. Abstract by O.G. Baranova