#173.1

Early Wooden Doll with Oral Historical Provenance
12 Watching
Live Auction

Onsite
$5,750
sold
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Estimate
$3,000 / $4,000
Description
12" (30 cm.) All-wooden doll with one-piece head and torso, very elongated oval head with painted pale complexion, painted black eyes with all-around eyeliner, thick brows, tiny thin line lips, black circles on cheeks, tacked-on (frail) brunette wig with ties, cloth upper arms, wooden lower arms, loosely-jointed wooden legs at hips and knees, painted red wooden shoes. Condition: very good, original finish and costume. Marks: RY (ink script lettering on torso). Comments: Late 1700s, according to London auction catalog from where the doll was acquired, it once belonged to Princess Sophia Wilhelmina of Sweden (1751-1820). The complete history of the doll is related in the book The Heart of the Tree by Rosalie Whyel and Jill Gorman, pages 108-109. Value Points: with distinctive facial painting, the doll is wearing her original gown and undergarments. Value Points: fascinating provenance and intriguing facial expression and painting of the doll with original costume.