DOLL

A 'doll' is a child's toy that represents a baby or other human being, but includes likenesses of animals and imaginary creatures. Dolls have been around since the dawn of human civilization, and have been fashioned from a vast array of materials, ranging from stone, clay, wood, bone, cloth and paper, to porcelain, china, rubber and plastic.

While dolls have traditionally been toys for children, they are also collected by adults, for their nostalgic value, beauty, historical importance or financial value. In ancient times, dolls were used as representations of a deity, and played a central role in religious ceremonies and rituals. Lifelike or anatomically correct dolls are used by health professionals, medical schools and social workers to train doctors and nurses in various health procedures or investigate cases of sexual abuse of children. Artists sometimes use jointed wooden mannequins in drawing the human figure. Action figures representing superheroes and their predecessors, action dolls^[1], are particularly popular among boys. Baby dolls, paper dolls, talking dolls, fashion dolls - the list is almost endless.

Contents

History

Materials

Famous types of dolls

Other dolls

Festivals and Exhibits

Doll Museums and Collections

See also

References

External links

History

Dolls have been around for far longer than most would think, archaeological evidence placing dolls as foremost candidate for oldest known toy, having been found in Egyptian tombs which date to as early as 2000 BC. In Egypt, as well as Greece and Rome, it was common to find them in the graves of children, these were mainly made from wood, however, among the wealthier families, pottery dolls were also found.
Many suggest that dolls were around even before 2000 BC, going further back and were probably made from materials such as clay, mud, fur, wood, etc.

Materials

Dolls over the ages have been made from every conceivable material.

★ Bisque

★ Celluloid

★ China

★ Clay

★ Cloth

★ Corn husks

★ Paper

★ Plastic

★ Polymer clay

★ Porcelain

★ Resin

★ Rubber

★ Vinyl

★ Wax

★ Wood

★ Bone

★ Ivory

★ Papier-mâché

★ Leather

Famous types of dolls

★ Action dolls

★
★ Action figures

★ American Girl

★ Ball-jointed doll

★ Betsy Wetsy

★ Blythe

★ Bobblehead doll

★ Cabbage Patch Kids

★ Celebrity doll

★ Chatty Cathy

★ Cindy Smart

★ Cute as a Button Babies

★ Dollikins (also called Action Girl)

★ Fashion dolls

★
★ Barbie and Ken

★
★ Bratz

★ Gigi

★ Golliwogg

★ Hakata ningyo

★ Jumeau Dolls

★ Kewpie doll

★ Kokeshi

★ My Child

★ My Little Pony

★ Paper Doll

★ Pedigree Doll

★ Pinocchio

★ Porcelain Doll

★ Pullip

★ Raggedy Ann and Andy

★ Strawberry Shortcake

★ Teddy bear

★ Tiny Tears

★ Troll doll

★ Waldorf Doll

★ Living Dead Dolls

★ Bleeding Edge BeGoth Dolls

Other dolls

★ African dolls

★ Black dolls

★ Hopi Kachina dolls

★ Inuit/Eskimo dolls

★ Japanese dolls

★ Japanese Ambassador dolls

★ Japanese traditional dolls

★ Hakata ningyo

★ Kachina dolls

★ Matryoshka doll

★ Navajo dolls

★ Russian dolls

★ Voodoo doll

★ Worry dolls

Festivals and Exhibits

★ Hinamatsuri (Japanese doll festival)

Doll Museums and Collections

★ Doll and Toy Museum of the City of New York

★ Musee de la Poupee et du Jouet Ancien, Paris

★ Yokohama Doll Museum, Japan

★ Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, London

★ Toy Museum, Prague

★ Deutsches Puppen-und Bärenmuseum, Germany

See also

★ Stuffed animal

★ Simpich Character Dolls

★ Raggedy Ann

References

1. New York Times article

External links

★ Project An exposition around dolls & automats

★ Dolls Around the World Museum of International Folk Art website

★ Poupées Pascaline French collection dolls

★ Miss Yamaguchi Torei Ningyo (Doll of Gratitude) Museum of International Folk Art websit

★ United Federation of Doll Clubs

★ National Institute of American Doll Artist NIADA

★ Société Française de Fabrication de Bébés et Jouets

★ http://www.bisque-dolls.com

★ OllyDolly.org.ua Ukrainian author-doll site

★ Dolls