Doll in Mantua
1759 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Doll with wax head and arms on cloth body, dressed in a striped pink silk mantua with large side hoop, trimmed with blue and cream blond lace. Cloth legs with green silk shoes.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 7 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | wax, silk, cloth |
| Brief description | A doll, dressed by its owner in court dress, 1759, English; pink striped silk mantua and accessories. |
| Physical description | Doll with wax head and arms on cloth body, dressed in a striped pink silk mantua with large side hoop, trimmed with blue and cream blond lace. Cloth legs with green silk shoes. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Object history | Laetitia Clark (born 1741) dressed 13 dolls between 1754 and 1814 in miniature fashionable outfits of the day using fabric from her own clothes. To accessorise the dolls she also collected miniature furniture and household utensils. Laetitia made this one, representing court dress in 1759, when she was 18. In 1761 Laetitia married David Powell, a London merchant, at St Botolph's, Bishopgate, London. The couple continued to live in that area, and one of their sons was the grandfather of the founder of the Boy Scouts, General Sir Robert Baden-Powell. Further dolls - dressed by the granddaughters and great-granddaughters of Laetita Powell - were added to the collection up to 1911. The collection both illustrates the styles of dress of the period, the fabrics available, and the types of dolls that were available. |
| Bibliographic reference | Serena Dyer, 'Fashions in Miniature: Dolls', Material Lives: Women Makers and Consumer Culture in the 18th Century, 2021, chapter 5, 161-187. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.183:4-1919 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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