Doll
Object NameDoll
Datec. 1850-1860
OriginHead: Germany Body: U.S.A.
MediumHead: china Body: cloth Limbs: leather hands and cloth legs. Clothes: silk and cotton
Dimensions23 1/2 in. (59.7 cm)
Other (Head): 6 in. (15.2 cm)
ClassificationsDolls, Doll Accessories, Toys and Games
Credit LineGift of Ann and Henry Brunnier. In the Ann and Henry Brunnier Collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Object number8.1.9
Status
Not on viewCollections
Label TextAlthough china heads were manufactured in Germany as early as 1750, they did not become especially popular until the mid-nineteenth century, when they became more affordable due to mass production. These heads were attached to cloth, kid, and wood bodies, of which the wood body is generally considered more desirable than others.
Most china heads have painted blue eyes with a black pupil, black molded hair and a white complexion. Those with painted brown eyes, glass eyes, wigs, swivel heads, pierced ears, or a pink complexion are rarer. A better quality china-head doll has a red dot in the inner corner of each eye, a red line in each eyelid crease, and a red dot in each nostril. Dolls with china lower arms and hands, lower legs and feet are uncommon, and are examples of better-than- average china- head dolls. This doll exhibits many desirable features, including brown eyes, a pink complexion and a red dot in the inner corner of each eye.
Locations
- (not entered) Iowa State University, Brunnier Main Storage
