ABG China Head Doll

Alt, Beck & Gottschalck produced this delightful and peaceful child doll in Germany around the 1880's. Although Conta & Boehme in my opinion made some of the most striking china head dolls of the Victorian age, ABG, who were in the doll making business from the 1850's-1930's, were, along with Kling, responsible for producing some of the most endearing and angelic looking youthful faces of their day in the china head world.

Many ABG china head dolls, as can be clearly seen in this model, feature youthful attributes such as very flushed, large puffy cheeks and orangey coloured mouths with a clear red line through the middle. The eyes are large, beautifully detailed and of a striking azure colour.

This hairstyle is known as a 'Highland Mary'. The blonde version featuring of this style is far more common than black hair. I have seen no other hair colour examples apart from these two. The hair is arranged in many tight, deeply molded curls at the back and a short fringe (bangs) adorns the forehead; the fine brush marks are a fantastic detail.

Mary stands at 19.5", the body is modern but appropriate (china heads with original bodies are becoming harder and harder to find due to cloth wearing out over time-finding one that has lasted since the 19th or early 20th centuries is a real plus). The limbs are china-the arms are my least favourite feature, they're modern and not the style I personally prefer. The china legs have flat black boots with lace-up detail and are reproductions.

Her top and skirt are cotton featuring light blue cross-stitching, undergarments are in the old style.

Mary is marked on the back of the shoulder plate: 1000# 8.