Featured Old Doll - Composition? Paper Mache?

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by David Askett, Aug 7, 2020.

  1. David Askett

    David Askett Well-Known Member

    I’m hoping someone who knows about such things can tell me about this 8” tall doll. For starters, what is it made of? It looks like sawdust mixed with some sort of glue. Would this be what’s known as “composition”? Or, is she paper mache?

    Unfortunately the doll is in rough condition, and seems to have lost her clothes along the way, but she’s special to me as she was brought home by a Canadian soldier who fought in the Boer War, for his daughter. On the doll’s back is painted “South Africa 1900” in red. This doll may not be pretty, but I hope I look as good when I’m 120!

    [​IMG]
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    [​IMG]
     
  2. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    very interesting.........
     
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  3. Debora

    Debora Well-Known Member

    That is too interesting. Thanks for sharing.

    Debora
     
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  4. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

  5. judy

    judy Well-Known Member

    Hi David!

    It's difficult to know by the picture....but maybe @Christmasjoy can tell.

    I'm thinking composition looking at the broken hand, but looking at the whole body, causes me to think Papier Mache.

    Papier Mache would be lighter in weight than compo.

    Compo appears to look more like wood than papier mache, if that helps you.

    If I had it in hand, I'm pretty sure I could ID between the two.

    Altho, looking again at the doll, I'm unsure I've seen a PM jointed body, and thinking further, Compo was used far more often than PM.

    Google the difference, and the weight just might tell you which you have.

    (TY AJ)....hopefully Joy wil see this too.
     
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  6. judy

    judy Well-Known Member

    Thinking of the doll material, who is it that recently joined that used to make repro dolls?

    Her opinion would be most helpful.

    @Northern Lights Lodge?
     
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  7. judy

    judy Well-Known Member

    Still thinking even further.................:facepalm:

    I think the person I'm thinking of uses her photo as her Avatar. She is blond, and I think she used to live in Sweden.

    I think Northern is the lace person.
     
  8. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Yes, she is.
    Maybe you were thinking of lizjewel? I checked her posts and can't find anything on dolls. Not that I am the world's greatest searcher.;)
     
  9. judy

    judy Well-Known Member

    Yes, that's who I'm thinking of. I could be all wet in connecting her to doll making.

    Whoever it is made note of the fact when she joined.....at least as I remember it was at that time.

    @lizjewel can you help?
     
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  10. judy

    judy Well-Known Member

    Well, I just looked at Liz's Introduction post, and I don't see any reference to dolls.

    Hopefully the "someone" I'm thinking about will see this and post.

    Time now for a cup at Kristin's!
     
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  11. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Enjoy!:)
     
    judy likes this.
  12. lizjewel

    lizjewel Well-Known Member

    @judy et al: Thank you for remembering me, guys and dolls!

    You're right though: Dolls are not my forte whatsoever. I think I totally lost interest when my younger sis took my fave doll into a sandbox to play with and forgot it there. She, sis, was about 5, the doll about 85 back then. The doll got smashed by little boys who kicked it around. It was a Jumeau my grandmother had bestowed on me, with a porcelain head, glass eyes that opened and closed and real hair hair. [Sic transit gloria dolly.]

    Since y'all sent out an APB for me, I'll venture a guess on the featured doll: Papier-maché.

    If the doll left South Africa at the time of the Boer Wars I will guess that it may once have been brought there from the Netherlands for a little Boer girl, then perhaps found by the Canadian soldier in a farm affected by the war. It'd greatly surprise me if any doll manufacturing actually existed in Africa then.

    The papier-maché in the late 19th century was indeed a type of composition but more often used a mixture of shredded newspapers and, sometimes, gypsum [gips] instead of sawdust that was common in most typical composition dolls.

    Your doll has great historical interest I think. In a beauty contest she'd lack points I'm afraid. Although I admire her muscular legs. I had those when I was a young athlete in school... those were the days..

    Maybe you can have her eyes restored. It hurts me to look at her as "blinded" in your image.
     
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  13. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Given the date, 1900, it would have been years after the period of the Dutch Cape Colony.
    Since the Boers had been in South Africa for a long time, and also resisted any Dutch attempts to bring them into the colonial fold, I don't know if it would have come over from the Netherlands. If the doll was originally bought in the Netherlands, she would most likely have been German or French made.

    The Boers were a mix of conservative Protestant people from several European countries, mostly France and the Veluwe region of the Netherlands. Hence the many French names. They were looking for freedom, free from any kind of oppression, and they found it in the Dutch colony and further north. There they took up farming, often stealing cattle from the native Khoi. Boer means farmer. The Dutch supported them at first, as they needed a steady supply of food for their ships to Dutch East India.
    Whatever the country of origin of their ancestors, the Boers spoke Afrikaans, a language related to Dutch, as did the Khoi, because it was the lingua franca in the colony. The present day Afrikaanders and Khoi still speak Afrikaans, as do many of the Muslims. That doesn't mean they had any relatives or other contacts in the Netherlands.
    While the Boer men fought a guerilla war against British encroachment, the women and children were taken from their homes and put in concentration camps. Many died of starvation and disease. So yes, the doll could have been left behind, a sad reminder of a once happy childhood.
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2020
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  14. Northern Lights Lodge

    Northern Lights Lodge Well-Known Member

    Hi... yep, I'm the lace person. Interesting doll; but I'm no dolly expert! What a story she must have!

    Leslie
     
    judy likes this.
  15. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Is it possible the torso & head are a different material than the limbs?
     
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  16. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    She could represent a Khoi (missing some beaded clothing and cloak):

    [​IMG]
     
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  17. judy

    judy Well-Known Member

    Thank you for your reply and thoughts.

    What a shame about your Jumeau!

    One of the few antique dolls that hold value.
     
    Bronwen likes this.
  18. David Askett

    David Askett Well-Known Member

    Actually, I’ve wondered about this. The body does seem to be made of a harder, denser material than the arms and legs.
     
    Bronwen likes this.
  19. David Askett

    David Askett Well-Known Member

    Interesting! Maybe she’s not missing a lot of clothing, after all. She may not have had much to begin with...
     
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  20. David Askett

    David Askett Well-Known Member

    Okay, here’s a closeup of her damaged left foot. Does this help with the composition vs. paper mache question?

    [​IMG]
     
    Bronwen likes this.
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