17th Century Wooden Doll and Accompanying 19th Century Dress

Wooden Doll laying down landscape on a white background. The doll has flaking and discolored cream lead paint, glass eyes, leather shoes and moveable joints on the arms and legs. The doll has no hair and only the faint lines of facial makeup remain visible
17th Century Wooden Doll After Treatment
A blue silk dress lays on a white background. The dress has a bodice and skirt, the silk has damage from pests and parts of it are shattering.
19th Century Silk Dress Treatment in Progress

Object Identification

  • Object: Wooden doll and dress
  • Date: 17th century (doll), 19th century (dress)
  • Origin: England
  • Owner: North Hertfordshire Museum
  • Measurements: 52 cm x 8 cm (doll), 38 cm x 11 cm (dress)
  • Materials: Unidentified hard wood, iron, lead paint, leather, silk, cotton

Summary

This style of doll was popular from the late 1600’s to the early 1800’s. Dolls like this were widely produced across the 17th century, they were both popular playthings for children and admired objects for adults. The higher quality dolls would be used as status symbols appearing in portraits of young girls and women. They would be dressed in the fashion of the period and would be used to advertise latest fashions until printed advertisements replaced this function. This doll appears to be hand carved as seen by the imperfect dimensions and crafting marks in the wood, the dress also appears to be handmade but is from a later period than the doll indicating the original clothes were lost. 

This object was conserved by Kate Fortescue. Find out more about her by clicking on the profile below!

Kate Fortescue