Woman with a yoke. Dymkovo toy

Probably, the Dymkovo toys came to us from antiquity and were intended not only for fun, but had a mysterious meaning: they protected from evil spirits, called upon the good gods to send a large harvest, protect, save from misfortune. The toys were molded and painted strictly according to the rules. Clay figurines were necessarily decorated with patterns. These are not just crosses, circles or quadrangles, but ancient symbols that the master should have known well. The patterns are unique, but they are always made up of the same symbols: circles - a sign of the sun, straight and wavy lines - a sign of water, dots - a sign of a man and small ovals - a sign of grain. There is a special meaning hidden in all these patterns, which we now cannot always understand.