#5

Fine American Cloth Doll by Izannah Walker with Ringlet Curls and Rare Painted Shoes
Live Auction

$29,000
sold
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Description
18" (46 cm.) Cloth doll with pressed and oil-painted complexion and facial features, center-parted hair with two shaded ringlet curls in front of each stitch-shaped ear, and then forming into ringlet curls that tumble onto her nape, outlined brown eyes with thin black outlines, well-defined eyelids, lightly stroked brows, rounded nose, closed mouth with accent line between the lips, firmly stuffed body with stitch jointing at shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, defined applied thumbs, unusual original blue sateen body cover, oil-painted hands and lower legs, painted black ankle boots with lacing and bows, antique costume which may be original. Condition: generally excellent, very light typical craquelure on face. Comments: circa 1865, Izannah Walker, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island, doll creator who obtained a patent for her dolls in 1873, but likely had been making them for some time previously. Her patent described her purpose was to create a doll that is "easily kept clean and not apt to injure a young child which may fall upon it. It will preserve its appearance for a long time." An inventive and hardy New Englander, she "made dolls and doll furniture, tinkered with household gadgets, designed a parlor heater 'that beat Ben Franklins', raised canaries, dabbled in real estate and was looked upon with admiration by male contemporaries because of her skill with carpenters' tools..." according to a contemporary write-up in the Providence Bulletin. Value Points: deservedly the most prized of American folk dolls with fine artistry of painting, rare ringlet curled hair style with exquisite detail of shaded color, rare body style with blue sateen body cover and painted ankle boots. The Izannah Walker doll has rightfully been compared to the celebrated American folk art canvas paintings of William Matthew Prior (1806-1873).