Product Description
Bear Carving from Bashkir (Медвежья резьба из Башкирии). Titled "Mishka with Spoon" ("Мишка с Лошкой"), this carving from 1977 was made in the Birsk factory of art products (Бирская фабрика художественных изделий). It is well preserved and uncommon, especially with the identifying label. The carving is different from the more playful, and more ubiquitous, Bogorodsk carved bears. 6⅜" in height. 2⅞" square by 3⅛" deep. 1 only, as shown.
The Bashkirs are a Turkic ethnic group, indigenous to Russia. Bashkir people originated from the same tribes which compose the modern Kazakhs and Kyrgyzes. The Bashkirs significantly developed their folk traditions with the founding in 1963 of the production association "Agidel". It included disparate enterprises of the art industry: a carpet weaving factory, embroidery and knitting workshops in Ufa, the nesting dolls of Yoshkar-Ola and the Birsk factory of wooden souvenirs and toys.
