‘Birdie on a cow’ shows a scene with a small bird sitting on a cow’s back. Such cute birds are often found among the Khludnevo folk toys: they sit on the tree of life, the shoulders of rattle-bladders, or the tips of whistles.

The toy was made by craftsman Alexander Zaborskikh. He studied craft under the famous craftswomen Tatyana Bubnyova, Tatyana Gorodnicheva, and Tatyana Trifonova. The master currently lives in the village of Duminichi and met the Khludnevo craftswomen by chance.

He said that once the head of the local administration asked him to go to the village of Khludnevo, “Our ladies seem quiet, better go and find out if they need something.” The artist found out that the craftswomen needed clay and help with selling their works. That was how their friendship began.

Over time, the craftswomen got the clay as well — six or seven tons of raw materials, which lasted for 15 years. Gradually, Alexander Zaborskikh began to learn the craft himself. It is noteworthy that the first figure that he made in the Khludnevo style was a cow.

In the first half of the 20th century, Khludnevo was a major pottery center. Before World War II, more than 20 masters worked there. The whole district Bobrovka (the upper end of the village) was engaged in this kind of craft. Men applied themselves to pottery making narrow-necked milk pots, small earthenware pots, jugs, creamers, washbasins, and other things. And toys were traditionally made by women. Starting from the 1960s, the earthenware industry reduced drastically, while the toy lasted longer. By the last third of the 20th century, when urban researchers discovered the Khludnevo tradition, only three earthenware makers occasionally worked in the village, and more than ten craftswomen produced toys.

Earthenware and toys required different raw materials. The figurines were made of special clay: in its raw form, it was blue-black, and after firing it became white or pinkish and at the same time slightly shined. The surface of the toy was painted with a pattern of separate lines and spot-like strokes.

In 1970, the Khludnevo folk toys were first seen by a wide audience in The Central Exhibition Hall, nowadays known as The Moscow Manege.