Matryoshka dolls seen in a shop window in Paris. 

Matryoshka dolls are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another. The name matryoshka, literally "little matron", is a diminutive form of Russian female first name "Matryona" or "Matryosha"

Collecting art and art objects goes way back in history, all the way back to prehistoric times since before there was actually a word for art in the way that we think of it today. Whether it was the Egyptians or the Greeks or the Romans or the Chinese or the Mayans, Collecting art has been both a way of preserving historical details through visual storytelling and a way of amassing wealth and status.

The Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Picture Gallery at Brussels, 1647 - 1651. Oil on copperplate, 104.8 x 130.4 cm., courtesy of Museo del Prado

However, in the present times, while art still serves all the functions it ever did it has also become a way to develop and express your cultural awareness and collect around yourself the kind of objects that expand and re enforce your ever increasing knowledge of the world you live in.

Our incredible access to the entire planet though the use of the internet and our ability to shop and collect from around the world gives us such an expanse of vision, perspective and capacity that previous generations could never have possibly imagined.

We live in amazing times. There is no question about that. Even in the midst of a global pandemic there is no reason not to remain in a state of perpetual awe and remain ever hopeful of a better future.