Superb 18th Century Wooden Doll with Original Fine Costume

Live Auction

15" (38 cm.) All-wooden doll with one-piece solid domed head and slender torso with defined bosom and waist, original painted complexion with shaded brown pate, defined eye sockets with red upper eyeliner, feathered brows, accented nostrils, closed mouth, well-shaped chin, blushed cheeks, sculpted blushed ears, dowel-jointing at shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, painted lower legs with elongated slender feet, painted pink shoes with defined heels, painted buckles, painted stockings with embroidery. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Continental, 17th century. Value Points: the exquisitely-sculpted doll wears her multi-layered original costume which includes hidden coin pocket, transfer printed apron, laced stays, woven silk skirt, jacket with metallic trim, and fancily painted shoes. The doll was featured in the book, Rare and Lovely Dolls of Two Centuries by John Darcy Nobel, described by him as "the most enviable of 18th century woodens...the head is vibrantly alive...the body, too, is most sensitively realized, with the most curious bend at the waist." Provenance: Ex-Bodmer collection.