A doll is a
model typically of a
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
or
humanoid
A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...
character, often used as a
toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls go back to the ancient civilizations of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. They have been made as crude, rudimentary playthings as well as elaborate
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
. Modern doll manufacturing has its roots in Germany, from the 15th century. With
industrialization
Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
and new materials such as
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
and
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
, dolls were increasingly mass-produced. During the 20th century, dolls became increasingly popular as
collectible
A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...
s.
History, types and materials
Early history and traditional dolls
![Crepereia Tryphaena-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Crepereia_Tryphaena-2.png)
The earliest dolls were made from available materials such as
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
, stone,
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
,
bone
A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...
,
ivory,
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
, or
wax
Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low ...
.
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
evidence places dolls as the foremost candidate for the oldest known
toy. Wooden
paddle doll
Paddle dolls are a type of ancient Egyptian female figurine that have been excavated from various tombs. Paddle dolls have been found in burials from the late Sixth Dynasty to the Thirteenth Dynasty from tombs in Asasif, Beni Hassan, Naga el-Deir, ...
s have been found in
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
tombs dating to as early as the 21st century BC.
Dolls with movable limbs and removable clothing date back to at least 200 BC. Archaeologists have discovered Greek dolls made of clay and articulated at the hips and shoulders.
Rag dolls and stuffed animals were probably also popular, but no known examples of these have survived to the present day.
Stories from ancient Greece around 100 AD show that dolls were used by little girls as playthings.
In
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, dolls were made of clay, wood or ivory. Dolls have been found in the graves of Roman children. Like children today, the younger members of Roman civilization would have dressed their dolls according to the latest fashions. In Greece and Rome, it was customary for boys to dedicate their toys to the gods when they reached puberty and for girls to dedicate their toys to the goddesses when they married.
Rag dolls are traditionally home-made from spare scraps of
cloth material. Roman rag dolls have been found dating back to 300 BC.
![Akuaba](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Akuaba.jpg)
Traditional dolls are sometimes used as children's playthings, but they may also have spiritual, magical and ritual value. There is no defined line between spiritual dolls and toys. In some cultures dolls that had been used in rituals were given to children. They were also used in children's education and as carriers of cultural heritage. In other cultures dolls were considered too laden with magical powers to allow children to play with them.
African dolls
African dolls across the continent are created for young girls to play with and as a charm to ensure fertility in women. Their shape and costume vary according to region and custom. Frequently dolls are handed down from mother to daughter. Wester ...
are used to teach and entertain; they are supernatural intermediaries, and they are manipulated for ritual purposes. Their shape and costume vary according to region and custom. Dolls are frequently handed down from mother to daughter. ''
Akuaba
''Akua'ba'' (sometimes spelled Akwaba or Akuba) are wooden ritual fertility dolls from Southern Ghana and nearby areas. The best known ''akua'ba'' are those of the Fanti people, “Fanti Dolls” whose ''akua'ba'' have large, disc-like heads. O ...
'' are wooden ritual
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
dolls from
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
and nearby areas. The best known ''akuaba'' are those of the
Ashanti people
The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante ...
, whose ''akuaba'' have large, disc-like heads. Other tribes in the region have their own distinctive style of ''akuaba''.
![Hinadolls](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Hinadolls.jpg)
There is a rich history of
Japanese dolls
are one of the traditional Japanese crafts.
There are various types of traditional dolls, some representing children and babies, some the imperial court, warriors and heroes, fairy-tale characters, gods and (rarely) demons, and also people of t ...
dating back to the
Dogū figures (8000–200 BCE). and
Haniwa
The are terracotta clay figures that were made for ritual use and buried with the dead as funerary objects during the Kofun period (3rd to 6th centuries AD) of the history of Japan. ''Haniwa'' were created according to the ''wazumi'' technique, ...
funerary figures (300–600 AD). By the eleventh century, dolls were used as playthings as well as for protection and in religious ceremonies. During
Hinamatsuri, the doll festival, are displayed. These are made of straw and wood, painted, and dressed in elaborate, many-layered textiles.
Daruma dolls are spherical dolls with red bodies and white faces without pupils. They represent
Bodhidharma
Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a 17th century apo ...
, the East Indian who founded
Zen, and are used as good luck charms. Wooden
Kokeshi
, are simple wooden Japanese dolls with no arms or legs that have been crafted for more than 150 years as a toy for children. Originally from the northeastern region ( Tōhoku-chihō) of Japan, they are handmade from wood, having a simple trunk ...
dolls have no arms or legs, but a large head and cylindrical body, representing little girls.
The use of an
effigy
An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...
to perform a spell on someone is documented in African, Native American, and European cultures. Examples of such magical devices include the European
poppet and the ''
nkisi'' or ''bocio'' of West and Central Africa. In European
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
and
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
, poppet dolls are used to represent a person for casting spells on that person. The intention is that whatever actions are performed upon the effigy will be transferred to the subject through
sympathetic magic
Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of magic based on imitation or correspondence.
Similarity and contagion
James George Frazer coined the term "sympathetic magic" in '' The Golden Bough'' (1889); Richard Andree, however ...
. The practice of sticking pins in ''
voodoo doll
The term Voodoo doll commonly describes an effigy into which pins are inserted. Such practices are found in various forms in the magical traditions of many cultures around the world.
Despite its name, the dolls are not prominent in Haitian Vodo ...
s'' have been associated with
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
Hoodoo folk magic. Voodoo dolls are not a feature of
Haitian Vodou
Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism. There is ...
religion, but have been portrayed as such in popular culture, and stereotypical voodoo dolls are sold to tourists in Haiti. Likely the voodoo doll concept in popular culture is influenced by the European poppet. A
kitchen witch
A kitchen witch, sometimes called a cottage witch is a homemade poppet or doll resembling a stereotypical witch or crone displayed in residential kitchens as a good luck charm and to ward off bad spirits.
History
There is some debate over where t ...
is a poppet originating in Northern Europe. It resembles a stereotypical
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
or
crone
In folklore, a crone is an old woman who may be characterized as disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructive. The Crone is also an archetypal fig ...
and is displayed in residential kitchens as a means to provide good luck and ward off bad spirits.
Hopi Kachina dolls
Hopi katsina figures (Hopi language: or ), also known as kachina dolls, are figures carved, typically from cottonwood root, by Hopi people to instruct young girls and new brides about katsinas or ''katsinam'', the immortal beings that bring rain ...
are effigies made of cottonwood that embody the characteristics of the ceremonial
Kachina
A kachina (; also katchina, katcina, or katsina; Hopi: ''katsina'' , plural ''katsinim'' ) is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo peoples, Native American cultures located in the south-western part of the United States. In th ...
, the masked spirits of the
Hopi
The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...
Native American tribe. Kachina dolls are objects meant to be treasured and studied in order to learn the characteristics of each Kachina.
Inuit dolls are made out of
soapstone and
bone
A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...
, materials common to the
Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
. Many are clothed with animal
fur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...
or skin. Their clothing articulates the traditional style of dress necessary to survive cold winters, wind, and snow. The tea dolls of the
Innu people
The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
were filled with tea for young girls to carry on long journeys.
Apple doll
An apple doll, also known as an apple-head or applehead doll, is a North American folk craft in which the doll's head is made from dried apples. In modern times, apple dolls are mostly used as decorations or to display craftsmanship, rather than ...
s are traditional North American dolls with a head made from dried apples. In
Inca mythology,
Sara Mama
Inca mythology or religion includes many stories and legends that attempt to explain or symbolize Inca beliefs.
Basic beliefs
Scholarly research demonstrates that Runa (Quechua speakers) belief systems were integrated with their view of the c ...
was the goddess of
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
. She was associated with
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
that grew in multiples or was similarly strange. These strange plants were sometimes dressed as dolls of Sara Mama.
Corn husk doll
A corn husk doll is a Native American doll made out of the dried leaves or "husk" of a corn cob. Maize, known in some countries as corn, is a large grain plant domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. Every part of ...
s are traditional
Native American dolls made out of the dried leaves or
husk
Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...
of a
corncob
A corncob, also called corn cob, cob of corn or corn on the cob, is the central core of an ear of corn (also known as maize). It is the part of the ear on which the kernels grow. The ear is also considered a "cob" or "pole" but it is not fully ...
. Traditionally, they do not have a face. The making of corn husk dolls was adopted by early European settlers in the United States.
Early settlers also made rag dolls and carved wooden dolls, called ''Pennywoods''. La
última muñeca La última muñeca (Spanish for "the last doll") is a tradition of the ''Quinceañera'', the celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday in parts of Latin America. During this ritual the ''quinceañera'' relinquishes a doll from her childhood to sign ...
, or "the last doll", is a tradition of the ''
Quinceañera
A (also , , , and ) is a celebration of a girl's 15th birthday. It has pre-Columbian roots in Mexico (Aztecs) and is widely celebrated by girls throughout Latin America. The girl celebrating her 15th birthday is a (; gender (linguistics), ...
'', the celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday in parts of
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. During this ritual the ''quinceañera'' relinquishes a doll from her childhood to signify that she is no longer in need of such a toy. In the United States, dollmaking became an industry in the 1860s, after the Civil War.
Matryoshka dolls are traditional Russian dolls, consisting of a set of hollow wooden figures that open up and nest inside each other. They typically portray traditional peasants and the first set was carved and painted in 1890. In Germany, clay dolls have been documented as far back as the 13th century, and wooden doll making from the 15th century. Beginning about the 15th century, increasingly elaborate dolls were made for
Nativity scene displays, chiefly in Italy. Dolls with detailed, fashionable clothes were sold in France in the 16th century, though their bodies were often crudely constructed. The German and Dutch
peg wooden dolls were cheap and simply made and were popular toys for poorer children in Europe from the 16th century. Wood continued to be the dominant material for dolls in Europe until the 19th century.
Through the 18th and 19th centuries, wood was increasingly combined with other materials, such as leather, wax and porcelain and the bodies made more articulate.
It is unknown when dolls' glass eyes first appeared, but brown was the dominant eye color for dolls up until the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
when blue eyes became more popular, inspired by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
.
![Layli (Lurish doll) from Mamasani, Iran](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Layli_%28Lurish_doll%29_from_Mamasani%2C_Iran.jpg)
Dolls,
puppets
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to mov ...
and
masks
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practi ...
allow ordinary people to state what is impossible in the real situation; In Iran for example during
Qajar era, people criticised the politics and social conditions of Ahmad-Shah's reign via puppetry without any fear of punishment. According to the Islamic rules, the act of dancing in public especially for women, is a taboo. But dolls or puppets have free and independent identities and are able to do what is not feasible for the real person.
Layli is a hinged dancing doll, which is popular among the
Lur people
Lurs () are an Iranian people living in the mountains of western Iran. The four Luri branches are the Bakhtiari, Mamasani, Kohgiluyeh and Lur proper, who are principally linked by the Luri language.
Lorestan Province is named after the Lurs ...
of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. The name Layli is originated from the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
folklore and love story,
Layla and Majnun
''Layla & Majnun'' ( ar, مجنون ليلى ; Layla's Mad Lover) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya).
"The Layla ...
. Layli is the symbol of the beloved who is spiritually beautiful. Layli also represents and maintains a cultural tradition, which is gradually vanishing in urban life.
Industrial era
During the 19th century, dolls' heads were often made of
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
and combined with a body of leather, cloth, wood, or
composite material
A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...
s, such as
papier-mâché or
composition, a mix of pulp, sawdust, glue and similar materials.
With the advent of
polymer
A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part")
is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
and
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
materials in the 20th century, doll making largely shifted to these materials. The low cost, ease of manufacture, and durability of plastic materials meant new types of dolls could be mass-produced at a lower price. The earliest materials were
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
and
celluloid. From the mid-20th century, soft
vinyl became the dominant material, in particular for children's dolls.
Beginning in the 20th century, both porcelain and plastic dolls are made directly for the adult collectors market.
Synthetic resins such as
polyurethane resemble porcelain in texture and are used for collectible dolls.
![German antique doll](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/German_antique_doll.jpg)
Colloquially the terms ''porcelain doll'', ''bisque doll'' and ''china doll'' are sometimes used interchangeably. But collectors make a distinction between
china doll
A china doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of Ceramic glaze, glazed porcelain. The name comes from ''china'' being used to refer to the material porcelain. Colloquially the term ''china doll'' is sometimes used to refer to any porcelain o ...
s, made of
glazed porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
, and
bisque doll
A bisque doll or porcelain doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of bisque or biscuit porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French ...
s, made of unglazed bisque or
biscuit porcelain. A typical antique china doll has a white glazed porcelain head with painted molded hair and a body made of
cloth or
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
. The name comes from ''china'' being used to refer to the material porcelain. They were
mass-produced in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, peaking in popularity between 1840 and 1890 and selling in the millions.
Parian dolls were also made in Germany, from around 1860 to 1880. They are made of white porcelain similar to china dolls but the head is not dipped in
glaze and has a matte finish.
Bisque doll
A bisque doll or porcelain doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of bisque or biscuit porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French ...
s are characterized by their realistic, skin-like
matte
Matte may refer to:
Art
* paint with a non-glossy finish. See diffuse reflection.
* a framing element surrounding a painting or watercolor within the outer frame
Film
* Matte (filmmaking), filmmaking and video production technology
* Matte pai ...
finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French and German dolls. Antique German and French bisque dolls from the 19th century were often made as children's playthings, but contemporary bisque dolls are predominantly made directly for the collectors market.
Realistic, lifelike
wax
Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low ...
dolls were popular in
Victorian England
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
.
Up through the middle of the 19th century, European dolls were predominantly made to represent grown-ups. Childlike dolls and the later ubiquitous baby doll did not appear until around 1850.
But, by the late 19th century, baby and childlike dolls had overtaken the market.
By about 1920, baby dolls typically were made of composition with a cloth body. The hair, eyes, and mouth were painted. A voice box was sewn into the body that cried ma-ma when the doll was tilted, giving them the name Mama dolls. During 1923, 80% of all dolls sold to children in the United States were Mama dolls.
Paper dolls are cut out of paper, with separate clothes that are usually held onto the dolls by folding tabs. They often reflect contemporary styles, and 19th century
ballerina paper dolls were among the earliest
celebrity doll A celebrity doll is a doll modeled after a celebrity.
Celebrity dolls have been in production for a very long time. In the 1840s, several famous ballerinas were featured as paper dolls. Also in the 19th century, various military heroes were portray ...
s. The 1930s
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...
doll sold millions and was one of the most successful celebrity dolls. Small celluloid
Kewpie doll
Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupid characters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neill's comic ...
s, based on illustrations by
Rose O'Neill
Rose Cecil O'Neill (June 25, 1874 – April 6, 1944) was an American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer. She rose to fame for her creation of the popular comic strip characters, Kewpies, in 1909, and was also the first published fema ...
, were popular in the early 20th century.
Madame Alexander created the first collectible doll based on a licensed character –
Scarlett O'Hara
Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the m ...
from ''
Gone with the Wind''.
Contemporary
dollhouses have their roots in European ''baby house'' display cases from the 17th century. Early dollhouses were all handmade, but, following the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, they were increasingly mass-produced and became more affordable. Children's dollhouses during the 20th century have been made of
tin litho, plastic, and wood. Contemporary houses for adult collectors are typically made of wood.
The earliest modern
stuffed toys were made in 1880. They differ from earlier
rag dolls in that they are made of plush fur-like fabric and commonly portray animals rather than humans.
Teddy bear
A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy bear, ...
s first appeared in 1902–1903.
Black dolls have been designed to resemble dark-skinned persons varying from stereotypical to more accurate portrayals.
Rag dolls made by American
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
s served as playthings for slave children.
Golliwogg
The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character – created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton – that appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag ...
was a children's book rag doll character in the late 19th century that was widely reproduced as a toy. The doll has very black skin, eyes rimmed in white, clown lips, and frizzy hair, and has been described as an
anti-black caricature.
Early mass-produced black dolls were typically dark versions of their white counterparts. The earliest American black dolls with realistic African facial features were made in the 1960s.
Fashion dolls are primarily designed to be dressed to reflect
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
trends and are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women. The earliest fashion dolls were French
bisque doll
A bisque doll or porcelain doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of bisque or biscuit porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French ...
s from the mid-19th century. Contemporary fashion dolls are typically made of
vinyl.
Barbie, from the American toy company
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
, dominated the market from her inception in 1959.
Bratz was the first doll to challenge Barbie's dominance, reaching forty percent of the market in 2006.
Plastic
action figure
An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...
s, often representing
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
es, are primarily marketed to boys. Fashion dolls and action figures are often part of a
media franchise
A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...
that may include films, TV, video games and other related merchandise.
Bobblehead
A bobblehead, also known by common silly nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible action figure. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected to ...
dolls are collectible plastic dolls with heads connected to the body by a spring or hook in such a way that the head bobbles. They often portray baseball players or other athletes.
![Emmaline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Emmaline.jpg)
With the introduction of computers and the Internet, virtual and online dolls appeared. These are often similar to traditional
paper dolls and enable users to design virtual dolls and
drag and drop clothes onto dolls or images of actual people to play dress up. These include
KiSS
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
,
Stardoll
Stardoll is a browser-based game from Glorious Games. One of the world's largest online fashion communities, Stardoll has reached over 400 million users as of January 2016.
Focusing on an audience that is often overlooked by the gaming indus ...
and
Dollz.
Also with the advent of the Internet, collectible dolls are customized and sold or displayed online.
Reborn doll
A reborn doll is a hand made art doll created from a blank kit or a manufactured doll that has been transformed by an artist to resemble a human infant with as much realism as possible. The process of creating a reborn doll is referred to as rebor ...
s are vinyl dolls that have been customized to resemble a human baby with as much
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
as possible. They are often sold online through sites such as
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
.
[Montcombroux, Vieve. "Simply Irresistible: What is that elusive quality that makes reborns so hard to resist?". ''Doll Reader Magazine''. June–July 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2009] Asian
ball-jointed doll
A ball-jointed doll is any doll that is articulated with ball and socket joints. In contemporary usage when referring to modern dolls, and particularly when using the acronyms BJD or ABJD, it usually refers to modern Asian ball-jointed dolls. The ...
s (BJDs) are
cast
Cast may refer to:
Music
* Cast (band), an English alternative rock band
* Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band
* The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis
* ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William
* ...
in
synthetic resin in a style that has been described as both realistic and influenced by
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
.
Asian BJDs and
Asian fashion doll
Asian fashion dolls are fashion dolls that are made by Asian manufacturers or primarily targeted to an Asian market. Some have received international attention, such as with Momoko Doll, and in 2005 the first annual Dollstyle convention was held i ...
s such as
Pullip
Pullip ( ko, 푸리프) is a fashion doll created by Cheonsang Cheonha of South Korea in 2003. Pullip has a jointed plastic body (1:6 scale) and a relatively oversized head (1:3 scale), with eyes that can move from side to side and eyelids that can ...
and
Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind").
People
* Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...
are often customized and photographed. The photos are shared in online communities.
Uses, appearances and issues
Since ancient times, dolls have played a central role in magic and religious rituals and have been used as representations of deities. Dolls have also traditionally been toys for children. Dolls are also collected by adults, for their nostalgic value, beauty, historical importance or financial value.
[Hirschfeld, Ariel (8 June 2009]
It's a Doll's Life
''Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'' Antique dolls originally made as children's playthings have become collector's items. Nineteenth-century
bisque doll
A bisque doll or porcelain doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of bisque or biscuit porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French ...
s made by French manufacturers such as Bru and
Jumeau
Jumeau was a French company, founded in the early 1840s, which designed and manufactured high quality bisque dolls.
It was founded by Louis-Desire Belton and Pierre-François Jumeau in the Maison Jumeau of Montreuil-sous-Bois, near Paris, France. ...
may be worth almost $22,000 today.
[Carvajal, Doreen (7 January 2008]
Henri Launay, French doctor to dolls
''International Herlad Tribune''
Dolls have traditionally been made as crude, rudimentary playthings as well as with elaborate, artful design. They have been created as
folk art in cultures around the globe, and, in the 20th century,
art doll
Art dolls are objects of art, rather than children's toys, created in a wide variety of styles and media, and may include both pre-manufactured parts or wholly original works.
History
Art dolls production demand a wide range of skills and techn ...
s began to be seen as
high art. Artist
Hans Bellmer
Hans Bellmer (13 March 1902 – 24 February 1975) was a German artist, best known for the life-sized pubescent female dolls he produced in the mid-1930s. Historians of art and photography also consider him a Surrealist photographer.
Biography
Be ...
made
surrealistic dolls that had interchangeable limbs in 1930s and 1940s
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
as opposition to the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
party's idolization of a perfect Aryan body.
East Village artist
Greer Lankton
Greer Lankton (April 21, 1958 – November 18, 1996), was an American artist known for creating lifelike sewn dolls that were often modeled on friends or celebrities and posed in elaborate theatrical settings. She was a key figure in the East ...
became famous in the 1980s for her theatrical window displays of drug addicted, anorexic and mutant dolls.
Lifelike or
anatomically correct dolls are used by health professionals, medical schools and social workers to train doctors and nurses in various health procedures or investigate cases of all sexual abuse of children. Artists sometimes use jointed wooden mannequins in drawing the human figure. Many ordinary doll brands are also anatomically correct, although most types of dolls are degenitalized.
Egli-Figuren
''Egli-Figuren'' ("Egli figures" or ''Biblische Erzählfiguren'') are a type of doll with movable limbs, originating in Switzerland in 1964, and popular in German Christian circles for telling Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the boo ...
are a type of doll that originated in Switzerland in 1964 for telling
Bible stories
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
.
In Western society, a gender difference in the selection of toys has been observed and studied.
Action figure
An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...
s that represent traditional masculine traits are popular with boys, who are more likely to choose toys that have some link to
tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
s,
transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
,
garages,
machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...
s and
military equipment
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
.
Dolls for girls tend to represent feminine traits and come with such accessories as
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
, kitchen appliances,
utensils,
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
and
jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
.
Pediophobia is a fear of dolls or similar objects.
Psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
Ernst Jentsch theorized that
uncanny
The uncanny is the psychological experience of something as not simply mysterious, but creepy, often in a strangely familiar way. It may describe incidents where a familiar thing or event is encountered in an unsettling, eerie, or taboo context. ...
feelings arise when there is an intellectual uncertainty about whether an object is alive or not.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
further developed on these theories.
Japanese roboticist
Masahiro Mori expanded on these theories to develop the
uncanny valley hypothesis: if an object is obviously enough non-human, its human characteristics will stand out and be endearing; however, if that object reaches a certain threshold of human-like appearance, its non-human characteristics will stand out, and be disturbing.
Doll hospitals
![Raggedy Ann & Andy - Project Gutenberg eText 17371](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Raggedy_Ann_%26_Andy_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_17371.jpg)
A doll hospital is a workshop that specializes in the
restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
or repair of dolls.
[Dolling out treatment](_blank)
Theage.com.au (10 June 2005). Retrieved on 2019-01-28. Doll hospitals can be found in countries around the world.
[Khalip, Andrei and Pereira, Miguel (23 December 2009]
Lisbon doll hospital treats owners' blues too
''Reuters'' One of the oldest doll hospitals was established in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal in 1830,
[ and another in ]Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, reputedly the first such establishment in Australia, was founded in 1888.[ There is a Doll Doctors Association in the United States.][Doll Doctor's Association](_blank)
Dolldoctorsassociation.com. Retrieved on 28 January 2019. Henri Launay, who has been repairing dolls at his shop in northeast Paris for 43 years, says he has restored over 30,000 dolls in the course of his career. Most of the clients are not children, but adults in their 50s and 60s. Some doll brands, such as American Girl
American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old boys and girls of a variety of ethnicities, faiths, and social classes from different time periods throughou ...
and Madame Alexander, also offer doll hospital services for their own dolls.
Dolls and children's tales
Many books deal with dolls tales, including ''Wilhelmina. The Adventures of a Dutch Doll'', by Nora Pitt-Taylor, pictured by Gladys Hall. Rag dolls have featured in a number of children's stories, such as the 19th century character Golliwogg
The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character – created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton – that appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag ...
in ''The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg'' by Bertha Upton and Florence K. Upton and Raggedy Ann in the books by Johnny Gruelle
John Barton Gruelle (December 24, 1880 – January 9, 1938) was an American artist, political cartoonist, children's book and comics author, illustrator, and storyteller. He is best known as the creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls and ...
, first published in 1918. '' The Lonely Doll'' is a 1957 children's book by Canadian author Dare Wright. The story, told through text and photographs, is about a doll named Edith and two teddy bears.
References
Works cited
*
External links
*
Dolls
at the V&A Museum of Childhood
The Canadian Museum of Civilization – The Story of Dolls in Canada
{{Authority control
Play (activity)
Toy figurines
Traditional toys