Three faced doll

item details

NameThree faced doll

ProductionGebruder Heubach; manufacturer(s); circa 1900; Lichte

Classificationdolls, doll's clothing

Materialsceramic, metal, paper, wood, papier-mâché, straw, horsehair, kapok, gesso, plaster, string, glass, composition

DimensionsOverall: 160mm (width), 505mm (height), 65mm (length)

Registration NumberPC004128

Credit lineGift of the Browne family, 1982

Overview

This is a rare three-faced mechanical doll, made about 1900 by the renowned Gebruder Heubach firm in Germany.

Design
By means of a ring and rod device, the head may be turned within its protective hood to reveal a crying, sleeping or smiling face. The doll has a voice box mechanism operated by a pull-string that emerges from its hip.

The doll is wearing a simple white cotton shift, fine white muslin drawers, and a long-waisted, white, machine-embroidered dress. It would have originally worn a bonnet over the papier-mâché hood. The head is mainly bisque.

Significance
The realism of the expressions depicted on the doll's faces is remarkable. The best German doll makers commissioned well-known sculptors to model the heads of actual children with varying expressions.