#124

American Carved Wooden Folk Dolls as Dancing Couple
Live Auction

$2,300
sold
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Description
21"h. man (53 cm.). Arranged upon an elaborately constructed platform with brass floor are two wooden flat-dimensional black dolls, each with pin-hinged arms and legs, each with artfully painted facial features and hair, painted shirts and cloth skirt or pants. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: American, late 19th century, the toy is designed to cause the dolls to loosely dance about when the wooden bellows is pressed up and down. The man is labeled "Arkansas Trav" and the woman "Eliza Jane", and presumably they represent a performance of the old time American folk song "Arkansas Traveler". Value Points: exceptional piece of American folk art with artfully rendered figures, original paint and costumes.