I am including some photos of various dolls of tin and metal this time. Metal has been used for ancient dolls, including amulets and ritual figures, jewelry, badges, utensil dolls, since almost the beginning of time. Iron Age people knew the value of good metal, and golden idols are mentioned in The Bible, remember the golden calf, though not with the happiest of connotations. Ancient Sumeria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Etruscan regions, Asia, and America all had their figures of metal. The Benin people specialized in objects of iron and various metals. Cast iron has been wrought into toys and figural objects like door stops and book ends for centuries, too. Cellini brought us fantastic figural salt cellars, and jointed silver and gold dolls with clothes have been found buried with sacrifical victims in Peru and other places in South America. Charm dolls abound today, and companies like Juicy Couture and Betsey Johnson Feature them in their work.
One of my first metal dolls was a tiny, jointed gold bear my mother had put on my first gold charm bracelet. Tiny ballerinas, more bears, jointed fish, and pewter "Penny woodens" followed. I have trojan horse charm that opens to reveal treacherous Greeks [my ancestors, after all!], and a Cinderella pumpkin coach that opens to reveal Cinderella. I have a little house that opens with a family inside, and a mini dice table with miniscule dice in it.
Statues in the ancient world, and masks, like those of Agamemmnon and King Tut are famous.
If you follow Sadigh Gallery catalogs, you will note many artifacts detailed there that are made of bronze and iron.
I include here some photos for you all to enjoy. Thanks to my almost 600 viewers for this blog, and to the nearly 11,000 viewers who read Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog!
Merry Christmas, and Happy Hannukah!
Dr. E
No comments:
Post a Comment