Early Wooden Dolls to the 1850s… Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder…

The Old Pretenders

These delightful handcarved 'Queen Anne' style wooden dolls are made by David Chapman & Paul Robins.

English wood dolls of the time are commonly referred to as “Queen Ann” dolls. This may be too general a term as the dolls predate Queen Ann. Eighteen century dolls have different characteristics that can be sorted into three periods:

William and Mary, Queen Ann, and Georgian.

1700 William and Mary Period English Wooden

They have a carved wooden face with well painted eyes. The eye brows and eye lashes were painted as tiny lines. The have highly rouged cheeks. The large black spots on the faces emulate "beauty spots" which were fake moles that women applied to their skin - the height of fashion at the times. Wigs, if present are flax or hair. The bodies are wooden and may be carved as one with the head. The base of the torso is usually square cut. Arms may be cloth with wooden lower arms ending in forked hands. Legs are wooden with tenon joints.

1740 Queen Ann Period English Wooden

The Queen Ann period doll extends from the 1700s to 1750. They are similar to above except they frequently have glass eyes. Their eye lashes and eyebrows are composed of small dots.
Her clothes, wig and shoes are original to her. The dress has been repaired with antique fabrics but is mostly original. Her corset has whalebone inserts.

1800 Georgian Period English Wooden

These English wooden dolls differ from the preceding periods in that their wood heads are covered in gesso and then painted. The head inset glass eyes that may be occasionally blue. They had flax of hair wigs. The wooden bodies are as previously made except that the end of the torso was pointed.

The Reinassance

In portraiture of the sixteenth century, noble girls are often pictured holding exquisitely dressed dolls, possibly bought new for the sitting.. These dolls are likely to be accurately painted rather than idealised, as the sitters themselves often were, so it must be assumed that such dolls were indeed artistically finished.

Portrait of Arabella Stuart ca,1577

Arabella clutches a fashion doll; the style of the doll's clothing date from about ten years before than the portrait, lending credence to the theory that fashion dolls would be given to children as playthings after they were used or out-of-date.

"Thei may be called legges of clowtes, as childre make popettis for to play with whil thei be yong."

The Pilgrimage of the Soul,British Library MS Egerton 615, 1413




　

Christ Blessing the Children ca;1540

In several versions of Christ Blessing the Children by Lucas Cranach the Elder or his followers, a small girl in the foreground carries a simple wooden peg doll.

English School,1506 Children of the King of Spain

Most ancient dolls that were found in children's tombs were very simple creations, often made from such materials as clay, rags, wood, or bone. Some of the more unique dolls were made with ivory or wax. The main goal was to make the doll as lifelike as possible.

Following the era of the ancient dolls, Europe became a major hub for doll production. These dolls were primarily made of wood. Primitive wooden stump dolls from 16th and 17th century England number less than 30 today. The Grodnertal area of Germany produced many peg wooden dolls, a type of doll that has very simple peg joints and resembles a clothespin.