Did you see the 18th century doll on the Antiques Roadshow? The expert pronounced her to be like Lord and Lady Clapham, who now live in the V&A museum. However the doll on the Roadshow was not quite like them. The expert pronounced the doll to be 1740 or thereabouts, whereas Lord and lady Clapham are dated 1790 – 1800 by their clothing.
The expert pronounced the doll to be wearing panniers but then drew up the petticoat at the front to reveal hoops sewn into the fabric. There is quite a difference. The doll was wearing a saque gown. These developed throughout the century. Early on, around the 1720s the saque gown was worn with circular or domed hoops which evolved from the old farthingale, the skirt is usually split down the front to reveal the undergown. However, the doll on the roadshow appeared to have no split on the front of the dress. I do so wish he had lingered at all on the underwear. There was a tantalising glimpse of red and then that was your lot. Very frustrating. The gown was most definitely a saque. These had a loose panel of fabric at the back, joined at the shoulders, then floating out, sometimes concealing the fastenings. They rose in popularity towards the middle of the century when variations of the loose back evolved. Then the gown was closed in front and the width spread sideways until the panniers became fashionable. These were circular ‘basket’ type hoops over each hip which could be collapsed to admit the wearer through doorways without having to sidle in. Later the gown again opened in front, also popular was a form of wrap-over bodice and long muslin aprons. The saque gown was out of fashion by the 1780s, therefore the doll on the Roadshow quite definitely predates Lord and Lady Clapham, possibly by as much as up to half a century. I really could have done with a much more detailed examination of the underclothing for dating evidence and closer scrutiny of the gown itself would have led to much more exact dating. The expert said 1740 but then said ‘panniers’ and ‘hoop’ in the same breath. Ooh I do wish I could have reached through the television, taken the doll off him and had a good look for myself!
The legs had fallen off the doll; again I wished so much to look at the attachments to the body. The doll was clearly of a very superior type; it had limbs jointed at the mid point, which would enable it to sit up in a chair and it had obviously spent much of its life sitting, as evidenced by the brilliant colour of the mustard yellow gown – a high fashion colour for much of the reign of George the second – at the back.
The face of the doll was hardly commented upon, which was a pity, I thought he said it was like the Claphams, I thought it had more in common with a doll I regularly used to visit in the Warwick doll museum. This doll, from the Joy Robinson collection, now in St John’s museum, had the same very calm countenance, huge recessed glossed dark eyes and the characteristic lines of tiny dots surrounding the eyes. Often dolls of this age have their eyebrows delineated as dots too, though the doll on television had high arched eyebrows with a break in direction at the mid point, whereas Lord and Lady Clapham have a continuous smooth pencil slim arch. It’s sad that little remained of the top of the head because we can use fashionable changes in the head dress to assist with dating too. Lady Clapham has a high lace hat; head decoration became ever more elaborate and higher in the last three decades of the century. In the 1740s I’d have expected the doll to be wearing a simple variation of a lace trimmed mob cap, possibly under a shallow bonnet or wide flat straw hat with ties under the chin.
I spent much time with Lord and Lady Clapham when I began my doll making career. I produced a doll to be dressed of the type.
I made the legs in imitation of a typical wood joint used on dolls at this time and, of course, the fork hands. I’ve referred to these on the doll that has just gone into the sale in bargain corner.
Perhaps it it time for me to revisit and remake these dolls but edge the history back that half century, adequately to reflect the earlier doll. My skill was not very great with sculpting and porcelain when I made my Lord and Lady Clapham, which is why I haven’t jointed the arms and legs; the smaller doll is only two and half inches tall. I think I might go for halving joints this time, which is what was in the middle of the disintegrated legs of the doll on the roadshow.
So, after 48th scale dolls and before long I’ll be back in the middle of the eighteenth century. In time, I’ll see you there.
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JaneLaverick.com – dolls everywhere.
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