Emma sat by the fire watching her mother sew. The little girl couldn’t concentrate on her mending; her father was coming home tomorrow after being away for three months.
He was on his way back from New York bringing his 14-year-old younger sister with him. His parents had died and she had no one to live with. Emma was excited to meet her aunt whom she hoped would be just like a big sister.
The next morning, Emma got up before her mother so she could finish all of her chores. She fed the chickens, milked the cows, and stoked the fire. The stagecoach was due in at 10:00 AM and she wanted to be at Holbalts Store in plenty of time to meet the coach. Hitching ‘ol Grey to the wagon, mom, and daughter headed into town.
Emma stood on her tiptoes as she watched the coach clamor down the street. It stopped in front of the store and her father and his sister climbed out. Exchanging hugs and kisses, they gathered the luggage, made their way to the wagon, and headed home.
Once home, father took out a box from his baggage and handed it to Emma. Excited, Emma opened the box and saw a beautiful blond haired doll. Her hair was done up in curls, she had a blue ribbon across it with blue matching earrings. She was wearing a blue silk gown. It looked to Emma that the doll was ready for a fancy ball. Under her skirt, she had a cloth body and her arms were leather that had sewed fingers. Emma loved her immediately. Her white skin and rosy cheeks were striking and her eyes seemed to speak to her.
Father cautioned, “Emma, this doll is breakable. The man I purchased her from said she is a Parian doll. Her beautiful head will break if you aren’t careful. I think you should keep her in a box until you are old enough to play with her without breaking her.”
Emma put the doll safely in her box and she kept her there for safekeeping during the day. However, at night, she would sneak her out of the box and place her carefully on her pillow and go to sleep dreaming that someday, she may be as pretty as this “Parian Doll.”
Until today, it was not definite who in Europe the first to manufacture porcelain doll heads was. The Royal Porcelain Manufacture (KPM) Meissen was one of the earliest producers. Initially the first dolls were produced as byproducts and only test models. At that time, Meissen made porcelain dishware and extravagant artistic porcelain.
In eighteen forty, the first porcelain doll heads were produced commercially. Meissen produced head with elegant lady faces which differed from the later little girl doll faces. Often frills and flowers were added to the dolls. Yet they weren’t called proper toy dolls and not suitable for children. They were still ornamental porcelain that pleased the eye. Some small children were given these dolls as presents. The precious doll was kept safe until the child had attained the right age and necessary maturity to appreciate the doll. As a result, many of these dolls remain today.
By 1850 manufactures began to realize that porcelain heads with all of their beauty and strong glossiness seemed unnatural and were thus not perfect. They directed their attention towards an especially fine, white, dull, and transparent type of porcelain: which was called Parian.
The period of the exquisite Parian dolls was quite short because they were still not suitable for child’s play. In addition, their white marble skin color was unnatural so the porcelain was painted flesh-like tone and then was not called Parian but bisque.
Many Parian dolls are around today because owners knew of their fragility and kept them safe. Children could only play with them as they matured. That is a good thing. I believe these dolls were some of the most beautiful dolls produced.
Barbara@endearingelegance.com
Endearing elegance on http://www.rubylane.com
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