Filimonovo toys appeared more than 1000 years ago. Archaeologists have found such figurines in ancient tombs in the Oka River basin, where the Vyatichi lived. The world of Filimonovo toys is cohesive and diverse at the same time. The unity is due to one artistic tradition: individual manners seemingly become generalized features of the style. However, this tradition was developed by many craftswomen and varied, as they put their personal best into creating the toys.

The Maslennikov, Karpov, Derbenev, Yevdokimov, and Zaitsev families were prominent creators of the toys. To this day, the original style of Filimonovo ceramic art is preserved in the works of the natives of the village of Filimonovo.

Among the craftswomen who in the second half of the 20th century gave new life to the ancient toy craft and brought it wide popularity was Alexandra Gavrilovna Karpova (1911–1992).

The creations of the Filimonovo craftswomen were invariably successful not only at local fairs, but also at art exhibitions of various levels, both regional and international. Museums and collectors acquired them as the most valuable examples of folk art.

Alexandra Karpova, an Honored Artist of the RSFSR, from 1917 a member of the Artists’ Union of the USSR and a native of the village of Filimonovo, Odoyevsky District, Tula Oblast, recalled,

In the toys of Alexandra Gavrilovna Karpova, roughness and elegance are combined in a peculiar way; all her products have elongated proportions. The painting is typical for Filimonovo toys: stripes and a somewhat gloomy color scheme of crimson, dark green and purple shades.

The composition “Yard” from the museum’s collection represents mainly domestic animals. It consists of figures of a goat, a ram, a cow and two horsemen. The displayed figurine depicts a man who sits on a horse in the saddle and holds a dog in his hands.