Featured ADDENDUM TO CHINA DOLL— SHE’S “NEKKED”!!

I got adventurous and removed the doll’s clothes and attempted (HA!!) to get images without reflection of the back of her shiny head ....... results are below!! I was most surprised to see she actually has a ‘part’ in her hair on top of her head!!! AND yes, @clutteredcloset49, there is definitely wear areas to the back of her head (nearly impossible to capture without reflection!!!) The rest pretty much show close-ups of her body, arms, hips, legs, etc!

 

the arms do look more recent !!

 

Built for childbearing, n'est-ce pas?

 

The whole body is home-made and not original to the head .. which may or may not be original. The clothing although well-made is home-made to fit the body ... Joy.

 

HAHAHAHA!!!!!!! I just didn’t want to be the one to post that!!!!!

 

Thank you SO MUCH, @Christmasjoy and @judy and everyone else!!!! It’s been fun finding out more about her........and now to worry about what will happen to her someday down the road!!! I know of no relative that collects dolls

 

Some of the relatives may be interested in keeping her as a family treasure, one doesn't have to be a 'collector' to have a much loved doll in their home. Whatever you decide to do I'm sure the receiver will give her a good home .. she certainly deserves that. Good luck with her .. she is very pretty ... Joy.

 

Thank you, so much!!!!

 

Some relative may want to get her out at Christmastime.

 

@Christmasjoy or @judy

If the head is old as in mid 1800s. Weren't those heads originally sold without bodies. Making a body and clothes were part of the past time weren't they?
At least that is what I thought I was told by an older antique dealer, a long long time ago.

 

She has a beautifully painted face, was this done in Japan?
Or where is she from?

 

What is that bump in the porcelain under her chin?

 

Hi CC ... The dolls were made intact but I think that heads were available too. One can buy old heads on Ebay to this day .. the thing I don't know is if this dolls head is actually " Old ". there are many reproductions out there as well, and very well done at that. I think it needs a real "hands on" with an experienced person to be able to tell, also when bodies wore out from play the bodies were mostly replaced with a home-made body as this one was. Sometimes parts were replaced several times to make the doll whole again. .... Joy.

 

I agree, hands on to be sure, but I think her head is antique.

Antidiem.....Extremely doubtful from Japan, and only a rare possibility if a repro.

Until you pointed out the "lump", I hadn't noticed. It might be the angle of the photos and it's just her chin.

If I remember correctly in the first thread, she has been in this condition since 1949.

The material of the cloth body appears to be old and quite sturdy.

The gusseted body appears to be well made, and if a replacement, more than likely sewn like the original. Nice detailed body....sign of a more expensive doll.

Leather boots were usually used for the style of feet on your doll.

The leather arms are probably newer replacements than the body.

The clothes she wears are later also.

Taking her to a doll show would give collector/dealers hands on opinions.

Sadly however, doll shows are few and far between these days......because of the declining interest.

 

@Jivvy
You're a doll collector too, aren't you?
You haven't been around for a little while. Everything ok?
What do you think?

 

Not a doll collector -- but I understand the confusion because I have been known to make dollhouses. Don't collect those, either.

(Thanks for checking in on me -- everything is fine, just busy. )

All of that said, @Aquitaine I would love to see pics of her top (clothing, not body)... purely selfish interest in the needlework, don't think it will give me anything substantive to add to the conversation.

 

1= hand stitched 2 = machine stitched


First I am not a doll person, or a linen person.
What I see though, is older material used for the body, and attatched to the head in a not so well sewn stitch as the rest of the body.

I think the arms were replaced long after the body was made. I think they were made from kid gloves. Notice part of the arms are machine sewn, only the lower side with the hand is hand sewn.

The elbow bend is an insert nicely sewn. However whoever attached the arm to the body didn't have the same sewing skill.

Would people have been able to buy replacement arms?

 

Forgot this one