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Skopin Toys

The craft originated in Skopin, a town in Ryazan oblast. In the 19^th century it was known for a ceramics craft known as “sinyushki”, which produced decorative sculpted containers. Characteristically, the toys have simple shapes; in addition to the usual Russian clay-toy characters, the craft included such creatures as dragons and the legendary bird Skopa (osprey). The toys are not painted. Colored glazes (green, yellow) are used or ‘scalding’ with different compounds (flour, milk, kvass, beer) to vary the color from light-beige to red-brown. A technique known as ‘smoking’ is also applied to produce a smoky-grey color.