Dymkovo toy
Clay toys, whitewashed and painted in bright colours: ladies, water carriers, horses, rams with golden horns and turkeys. They come from the settlement of Dymkovo, now part of Kirov.
The craft arose in Dymkovo, a settlement across the river from Vyatka that now lies within the city of Kirov. It is associated with Svistunya, a spring festival for which the settlement’s craftswomen modelled clay whistles in the shape of horses, rams, ducks and other animals.
The toy is modelled in parts from local red clay mixed with river sand, then dried, fired and coated with white in two or three layers. In the past the whitewash was chalk mixed with milk, and the paints were mixed with egg.
The painting is built from simple geometric elements (checks, stripes, circles and dots) in red, yellow, blue and green. Small diamonds of gold leaf or imitation gold leaf complete the decoration.
Each toy is made by hand, from modelling to painting, so no two are alike. The Dymkovo toy has become one of the symbols of the Kirov Region.
Photographs
Dymkovo toy 
Dymkovo toy 
Dymkovo toy