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Doll

1830-1870

Papier mâché, paper, textile, leather, paint

Overall: 13 x 7 x 1 1/2 in. (33 x 17.8 x 3.8 cm)

Gift of Walter S. Poor

1945.339b

While the heads were probably made in Germany, the doll itself was almost certainly assembled in another country, probably the United States. While no traces of the propelling mechanism exist, the string threaded through the chest and certain holes at the back of the head suggest that the doll may have been suspended in some fashion, in order to cause the legs to "dance."

DescriptionDancing doll with papier mâché shoulder head, molded black hair piled on top of head in elaborate hairstyle with curls at sides, and with brushstroke curls along edges, molded and painted facial features including blue eyes, closed mouth, and heavily rouged cheeks; complete kid stuffed arms and hands, with separate fingers and thumb sewn on to hand with separate panel; torso and legs made of stiff cardboard covered with fabric, with pieces (torso, upper leg, and lower leg) sewn together so as to hang loosely; pink silk shift covered in ecru sheer textile overdress, trimmed with rosettes of same fabric sewn at intervals along hem above even row of black disks, over plain cotton petticoat; pink ballet shoes sewn on to feet, with laces embroidered on ankles; thin green string threaded through torso.

ClassificationsTOYS