Eight Very Rare Early Miniature Wooden Dolls in Original Costumes

Live Auction

4" (10 cm.) Each has one-piece carved wooden head and torso,wooden limbs with cloth strip jointing,painted facial features and sculpted hair over gesso. Condition: generally excellent,some age wear to costumes. Comments: mid-19th century,the dolls were featured in a full chapter (pages 201-206) in Evelyn Ackerman's Dolls in Miniature,with noted similarity to a set of dolls then found in the Dingley Hall dollhouse of famous Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. In that book,Evelyn Ackerman discusses the unique and special features of the dolls,noting the improbable,yet serendipitous,circumstance that the ensemble has remained intact,and offers possible attributions. Value Points: outstanding detail of individual hair styles,facial expression,and meticulous costume and accessories on the set of tiny dolls.