South East Asian Doll

Bisque doll, Armand Marseille, 1924. Museum no. Misc.36-1964 (click image for larger version)

This little doll, dressed as a Japanese baby, was made by the firm of Armand Marseille, which was one of the largest and most successful doll manufacturers in Germany in the 20th century.

Armand Marseille issued their first version of a true baby doll in the 1920s and called it 'My Dream Baby'. Until then, like most doll manufacturers, their 'baby' dolls were based on young children rather than infants. 'My Dream Baby' came in a variety of sizes from 21.5 cm to 61 cm, and there were four dolls in the range, representing South East Asian, Mixed Race, Black and Caucasian babies. They also sold the head design to other doll manufacturers around the world.

This baby doll was made in the 1920s when dolls derived from different cultures were particularly popular in Europe and the USA. The mould was very similar to the one which would have been used to make white dolls, with minimal differences to suggest the South East Asian features.