Скачать или смотреть Antique dolls prized by collectors

(20 Feb 2019) LEADIN:
Hundreds of rare and antique dolls are on show alongside vintage Barbie and other modern favourites at Rome's Palazzo Rospigliosi.
The dolls are no longer mere toys, but prized objects from European collections.
 
STORYLINE:
Dolls have been around in one form or another for centuries.
They've been made from a vast array of materials including clay, bone, soapstone, wood and porcelain, before more recently moulded in plastic.
A doll can be found in almost any child's home, but to collectors who come to exhibitions like this, these objects are much more than toys.
Enthusiasts regard the rarest of those that have survived as objects of art, worthy of their place in a museum.
Among the exhibitors is Samy Odin manager of the Paris based Chérubins company, and a collector in his own right.
Odin explains: "Antique dolls are a sector involving very different types of collectors. We are enthusiastic to see that finally there are people interested in the history of fashion, people interested mostly in the representation of childhood in all its forms, there are lovers of toys, people who like haute couture, as well as people looking for childhood mementoes."
"There are many different types of materials used in the production of dolls. The most precious is probably the bisque, a type of porcelain with matt finish that has been used a lot for making doll's heads. But there are a wide variety of materials: from wood, wax, papier mâché, to felt, particularly in the Italian tradition, especially with Turin's producer Lenci who is one of the most iconic makers for today's collectors" he says.
Lenci dolls were made from felt with detailed painted faces.
"According to the period that is taken into consideration, there are some types of dolls more fashionable than others. Currently Parisian dolls, with their rich costumes and wardrobes, are in strong demand among collectors in the Western world. There are beautiful French creations from the last quarter of the 19th century when renowned manufacturers like Jumeau, Bru, Steiner, Gaultier made outstanding dolls for children, which have today become very valuable" adds Odin.
Valuable can mean a price tag of several thousand Euros, although collectors like Odin say it's possible to start a basic collection from around dozens of Euros.
Apart from the antique dolls, the exhibition also features artistic dolls.
These are made by artists who've chosen to produce and paint dolls, or create miniature fashions as a way of expressing their art, and the dolls themselves have become objet d'arts.
Some contemporary artists dolls featuring original costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries are particularly sought after according to collector and doll creator Paky Portera.
"Modern artistic dolls are different from antique ones. (They're) for those who love dolls, but prefer something that you can touch more, (which are) perhaps less fragile. In any case, they're usually made of porcelain and represent a big market for collectors. Some of my pieces are on show in the Victoria and  Albert Museum and in the Kremlin Museum. In any case they're objects with an historical background, modelled according to specific periods in history."
The world's most famous doll Barbie is also celebrated.  
Mattel started producing the dolls 1959 and in the first year, managed to sell around 350,000 pieces.
The exhibition claims Barbie is the most sold doll in the world.
But although some pristine antique dolls are worth thousands of Euros to collectors, for most people dolls and toys are there to be played with and cuddled.

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