TOY: FRENCH BOUDOIR DOLL

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c. 1930

Subcollections

Overview

a) French boudoir doll dressed in the Marie Antoinette style which was fashionable in the Art Deco period. She has a factory made head, probably fashioned from buckram under its cloth covering. (Her legs and feet are made of wood, as are her hands which appear to be hand carved.)

b) She wears a white mohair wig (pompadour style) with two long curls tied down with a black velvet ribbon finishing in brooches on either side. Her long pearl earrings are interspersed with diamante. Around her neck she wears an ivory coloured fichu trimmed with lace flowers and fastened with a flower draped metal brooch. Her blue and mauve and ivory coloured bodice has long sleeves ending on a fall of gathered lace. It has a basque overlay draped over her skirt. The blue padded silk skirt is covered with ivory coloured chemical lace. Her white petticoat and pantaloons have tucks and are edged with lace. Her black leather shoes have red heels and are decorated with a gathered ribbon with a diamante at its centre.

Historical information

French Boudoir dolls are exported and their parts assembled overseas. They were then dressed in whichever fashion was prevalent. These dolls were meant to be displayed in the lounge and were also taken out to social gatherings such as dances by their owners. This doll was probably dressed by Miss Gertrude Lipfert who was a dressmaker specialising in embroidery. The fact that the hands are hand carved wood instead of composition might indicate that Otto Lipfert had a hand in assembling the doll, since he loved woodwork. Her black leather shoes have red heels and are decorated with a gathered ribbon with a diamante at its centre.

From the Lipfert home at 270 York Street, Subiaco.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-43-1991.8a-b

Item type

Material