On 8 September, the exhibition by Dmitry Endovitsky, the Rector of VSU, “Around the world in 21 days” opened in the Gallery Chizhov shopping centre. The exhibition, which consists of dolls and souvenirs from the rector’s personal collection, is open till 29 September.
Among the exhibits are over 100 items made of ceramics, porcelain, faience, wood, plastic, stone, metal, fabric, leather, fur, which the rector had brought from different countries of the world and regions of Russia. Many of the dolls are dressed in national costumes, they are complemented by accessories: souvenirs which had also been brought from all over the world.
“At first, it was me who collected dolls, I brought them from business trips. Soon, my husband also became interested in my hobby. We have about 300 dolls, only a third are presented here. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that all dolls are made of completely different materials,” said Elena Endovitskaya, the Head of the Department of International Economics and International Business at the Faculty of International Relations of VSU.
“The exhibition addresses a wide audience as dolls is a positive and understandable art to the majority of people. Dolls reflect the way its creators and their nation percept the world. The author of the doll creates both its image and design. For example, ancient Romans applied themselves to creating dolls. Between 10 and 50 people could be involved in the job. These dolls were dressed and had their hair done in the latest fashion and were sent to remote provinces so that local residents could learn about the latest trends in the capital. In the 17th–18th centuries, this tradition was revived. But this time, dolls were sent from Paris rather than Rome. When learning about dolls one can have a wonderful journey around countries and continents because dolls are part of folk traditions. Dolls wearing national costumes are similar to books. If you learn to read them, you can know a lot about the culture, mentality, and history of the peoples,” said Angelika Makarova, the main guardian of the collections of the VSU History Museum.
The opening of the exhibition concluded with performances by Rauf Ragimov, a student from the Faculty of Computer Sciences and a violinist.
