Nelling, Inc.
E a r l y D o l l s
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(Click on photos to enlarge)
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French Court Doll 13" |
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Hermaphrodyte $16,950. |
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Presenting a quite intriguing early doll that documents a volatile time in French Court history, the French Revolution and the chances that society was taking in life and art. These wooden character dolls represented life in the late eighteenth century and depicted individuals from the Royal Court in France, not to mention a variety of courtiers who lived in direct entourage to the King, Queen or Emperor. |
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These dolls varied in styling and were found to model numerous gowns and
costumes of the royal circles, and their bodies seemed to be similar in
construction, having gesso covered, carved wooden heads and torsos, with
fabric covered limbs attached with wire
armature.
And oft times, the dolls were classified as hermaphrodites since they
would have both female and male anatomy combinations, this female example
having the physically conflicting feature hidden under the costume. |
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The original gown of silk and lace offers some style variations as it has a dramatic, removable hooded cape and also a matching, decorated straw hat to add to the presentation. More photos showing the body are available on request. |
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Early Peddler Grodnertal Wooden $4,950. |
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Having first been a part of Austria, then called South Tyrolea before World War 1, the Grodnertal region near Germany was home to the production of these fascinating wooden dolls. Adding to the warm, inviting charm of these dainty works of art, some were dressed to represent local peddlers of their assorted wares, that would carry a basket of necessities and delights to be purchased on the street. This particular 12 1/2" Grodnertal is an early one, detected by her egg-shaped, carved head, and the painted hair detail on her forehead. See the extended painted shadows and strokes that represent wisps of hair and curls below. She has painted blue eyes with human detail, a prim red upturned lips, and gently rouged cheeks. Her head and torso are one piece, while the limbs are jointed at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. |
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Her feet are carved as her
orange painted little slippers.
Look at the impressive costume she wears that consists of a bold, black and
white striped skirt, a tiny brown print, long sleeved blouse, a white cotton
shawl and long white, lace-trimmed pantaloons, kept warm by her bright red,
hooded wool cape that can rest over her straw, silk covered bonnet.
Now let’s see what she has to sell in her original straw basket of
wares…You can spot knitting yarn, scissors on a presentation card as well as
a knife and fork on their card, socks, needles and a needle container,
household tools, a dangling glass bottle, a folding pocket knife, a pair of
mittens and some sewing trim on a card, and it goes on…the more you look! |
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English Wooden Maiden 16" |
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with Embroidered Family Ties SOLD |
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Dating
from the 1790’s comes this charming English wooden doll with a story told by
her original, humble garments.
Her clothing’s deep tones of worn purple and green silk are still sewn to
her carved wood body and an unexpected apron of woven dark wool is tied
around her waist. She has layers
of cotton undergarments that reveal a stitched monogram of the letters “M L”
on the slip, and the soft feel of embroidered cotton trim is found again,
peeking out from the edges of her fragile, time-flattened silk bonnet.
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Her
George III era construction is seen on her simply carved head and attached
torso, however she does have dark enamel eyes and her original paint with
some dings and wear from her playtime history.
As seen in the photos, her head is plain with not much detail and
lacks a wig of any kind under the bonnet.
Her arms are of stuffed cloth with tiny leather hands having separate
but frail finders. Her carved
wooden legs are jointed at the hips and knees and her feet are carved blue
painted shoes. She has had a
long journey, all the while being taken care of over the ages and she
welcomes more history to experience. |
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Grodnertal Sisters 8" |
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Sold Separately or Togerther $1,975. EACH |
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What a fun couple of Grodnertal girls we have from a collection in Provence, in their original, complementary country attire. They are each approximately 8” tall, are all of carved wood, and are jointed at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, with tiny, carved feet that are their painted slippers. |
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The
shape of their heads put them at around 1825, with their black painted hair
and eyes, prim red lips and healthy rouged cheeks.
Both of their ensembles are of antique printed cottons, with the
skirts actually being quilted, giving them an added crispness.
While they love each other’s company, they are not opposed to being
separated and sold apart. They are
priced separately, however, there will be a discount if they are
purchased as a pair. |
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George III Period Little Wooden 12 1/2" |
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with Unexpected Fine Detail $7,950. ON LAYAWAY |
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A diminutive English wooden doll from the George III era with an extra dose of detail and quality for her genre. This size offers the flexibility of many display options as she can be a child in a larger display, relax as an infant on the lap of an adult wooden, or have her own scaled down world as a grown-up. It is nice to have the dark enamel eyes on a smaller wooden, she has the expected one-piece carved head and torso, however on inspection of her hips and legs, we see a very unusual upgrade in workmanship! |
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| What are usually and accepted wooden legs of cruder carving, turn out to be highly detailed and painted jointed legs with attractive, human-like carving of thighs, legs and ankles. Even the extra jointing as the knees is unusual! Her cloth arms are finished off with dainty, carved hands having separate fingers that look original. Many times, the hands and arms don’t stand the test of time like hers have and have to understandably be replaced. Her hair is comprised of a very thin, platinum wig of mohair wisps. |
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One
of her garments can double as either a sleeping gown or a casual day dress
of the period, and her semi-pantaloons are tied to her knee area and peek
out from underneath her hem.
With this dress she wears some colorful stocking and tiny black leather
slippers. Also with her is an
ages old attempt to construct a fancy gown for her in pink tones of silk,
with a metallic trim decorated stomacher.
With this outfit she has the option of another,
worn pair of socks and slippers and as far as a bonnet, she has one,
frail cotton number with fragile silk ties. |
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Incredible Motschmann Baby with Provenance $1,975. ON HOLD |
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For collectors and lovers of early paper mache dolls, the so-called Motschmann baby is a category of study all its own. Charles Motschmann was an early European dollmaker who was inspired by the Japanese jointed paper mache babies introduced at the London World Exhibit in 1851, however similar adaptations followed and even Jules Steiner adopted the unique construction idea for some of his early bebes and mechanical dolls. This particular 23" doll, from the Sherryl Shirran collection, is an outstanding example, starting with it’s important size of 23”, its highly detailed original presentation, and the letter of provenance that remains attached to the doll from early owners. It has enamel eyes, a closed mouth, a floating swivel head with closed dome and finely brushed locks of baby hair painted on the sided and back of the head. |
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There is a paper mache shoulder plate mounted on a cloth covered, wire-framed torso, continued by what are called “floating” paper mache hips where the legs are attached. There, the cloth jointing is continued to connect to the paper mache legs that are swived jointed at the knees and ankles. This same construction style is applied for the arms as well, where a segment of cloth starts at the shoulder, to soon connect to the paper mache arms that swivel at the wrist where the plumb hands are attached. |
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Early China in Orig. Military Costume $695. |
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A bit of French military nostalgia comes to life here with this endearing wartime “water boy” (12 3/4") with the original uniform he would have worn on the battle grounds bringing water to the troops. He even carries his wooden barrel cantene hanging from a leather strap. The whole outfit is original, including the wooden clogs and the fabric, pointed cap he wears. He is an early German china, circa 1845-50, with a short hairdo, exposed ears, and rare wisps of side hair painted on his temples. Probably depicting the time of the Franco Moroccan war of the 1840's. |
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| His original body is of cloth while his arms are leather with stitched fingers. Over his simple, red cotton trousers, is a quite elaborate, long military wool jacket in navy blue, with boldly placed rows of gold metal buttons, additional red coard trim, white cotton underclothing and and apron as well. I had recently sold a smaller, French china water girl in a very similar outfit, also purchased in Paris! |
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English Wooden Child with Endearing Presence $11,900. |
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Along with representing a child, this late, George III English wooden (20") has that special something that only the esoteric changes of time and the natural combination of presentation details can provide. Carved by a wood worker at the very end of the eighteenth century, she has the simpler details of features typical of the examples from that time, but her simpatica personality makes her stand out and almost come to life. She has the darkest brown enamel eyes, one-stroke brows, long pronounced nose, demure smiling painted red lips, rosy complexion and rouged cheeks that combined together give her an endearing energy. |
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Her brunette, human hair curls are secured to the top of her head and the unrestored surface of her face shows the tracks of play and adoration starting 225 years ago! Acceptable and not distracting for a true lover of antique woodens. Her rounded head and simply carved torso are one piece, as are her carved wooden legs being only jointed at the hips. Her arms are of original kid leather, both of which have had a patch added at the elbows later on. Her feet are crudely carved then tinted in a cadmium red paint, with the left one having the front tip chipped off (hidden in the shoe). |
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Now to her original clothing, that consists of a pre-Regency, long gown of diaphenous fabric, having the new, linear silhouette that drew from the fashions of ancient Greece. She remarkably retains the matching cap in the same fabric, with the same silk ribbon pleated trim as the bodice of the dress. Not to mention the adorable silk slippers with a bit of metallic trim. The pillow with the embroidered “B” has been given to her, however the chair is not for sale and just a prop. |
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more Early Dolls go to page 2
Post Office Box 4327 n Burbank, CA 91503
Cell (818) 738-4591 n Home Phone (818) 562-7839
Don't forget to look at the Miscellaneous page!
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