Early Carved Wooden Dolls, Original Silk Court Costumes, Traphagen Collection

Live Auction

15" (38 cm.) Each has carved wooden socket head, inset enamel eyes, closed mouth, strongly defined features, white mohair wig in original arranged periwig or up-swept curls, wooden torso, legs, and lower arms with dowel jointing at hips and knees. Condition: faces have been repainted, structurally excellent. Comments: late 1700s, the dolls were presented originally as theatrical dolls; cloth tags inside each costume indicate that the dolls were acquired in 1937 from the collection of the Traphagen School of New York. The famed Traphagen School of Fashion was founded by Ethel Traphagen in the early 1900s and she is widely considered the pioneer of American fashion. To enhance the student's vision of fashion she collected widely in historical fashion, textiles, and in dolls wearing historical fashion such as this pair. Value Points: despite their repainting, the dolls are notable for their portraiture, original wigs, and superb workmanship of original costumes.