Porcelain, China and Bisque
China and Parian Dolls
Terms
Pottery is any object made of clay treated by firing. The clay can be baked in the sun or in a kiln. It is synonymous with ceramic
ware.
Bisque or biscuit is ceramic ware that has been fired. Bisque refers to the first firing of the pottery—the biscuit firing. Better
grades are translucent. It may be tinted or untinted.
Parian is untinted bisque. It has a flat, usually white, surface.
Porcelain is ceramic ware (pottery, bisque) that is a strong, vitreous, translucent material, biscuit fired at a low temperature and
gloss fired at a high temperature.
Soft paste porcelain is a combination of elements to produce porcelain that uses less frit (ground up glass) with the clay than
hard paste porcelain. It has a high pyroplastic deformation (it deforms easily when fired in the high kiln temperatures hence is
“soft”) which limits its usefulness. Soft paste with little clay is hard to form. More clay in the formula makes the piece easier to
form. The frit or ground glass determines the smoothness of the final porcelain. Less frit, as in soft paste porcelain, produces a
grainier finished product. Because of its tendency to deform, soft paste porcelain is fired at lower temperatures. This gives the
artist a wider range of available colors and decreases fuel consumption for the manufacturers. Soft paste porcelain is easily
scratched. Experiments at Rouen produced the earliest soft-paste in France by 1673. Little was produced there, however,
other French manufacturers included St. Cloud, Chantilly, Mennecy, Vincennes and Sevres. Soft paste porcelain was used in
England about 1742. The addition of bone ash produced bone china, perfected by Spode. Half dozen other manufacturers in
England used soft paste porcelain. It is not known if soft paste porcelain was made in Germany. However, given the multiple
experiments needed to develop a formula for porcelain, it is feasible that some early German porcelain would fall into the
category of soft paste (that made by the Medicis for example). There is much debate regarding the use of soft paste porcelain
in the manufacture of early doll heads.
Hard paste porcelain includes kaolin (white china clay), feldspar and quartz. This porcelain has a high concentration of frit to
clay. It can withstand high temperatures in the kiln without deforming. Hard-paste porcelain was successfully produced in
China centuries before it was first successfully produced in Europe at Meissen, Germany in 1708. It is the basis of modern
porcelain.
China is glazed porcelain. It has a shiny surface due to the glaze. Early china doll heads were made with hard paste porcelain
then glazed before firing. Later, china doll heads were biscuit fired, then painted and glazed, then fired again.
Process
Development of Porcelain
Chinese porcelain fragments have been found to date back as far as 9000 BCE though porcelain manufacture of substance is
generally dated to 100 CE or about the 7th century.
Chinese porcelain was reported to have been brought back to Europe by Marco Polo in the 1300s. As with any quality product
that is new and different and hard to obtain, it became an important status symbol among the wealthy. While the porcelain was
brought to Europe, the secret to making the porcelain, or white gold as it was called, was protected in China by the death
penalty. The Medici’s in the 1500s sponsored the development of a type of porcelain, very possibly a soft paste porcelain.
However it was made for exclusive use of the Medici’s. It was not until the early 1700s that the Arcanum (process of making
porcelain) for a hard paste porcelain comparable to Chinese porcelain was discovered by Tschirnhaus under the patronage of
Augustus the Strong of Saxony, Germany. Bottiger, an alchemist who claimed he could make gold from base metal, upon failing
to produce the gold, assisted Tschirnhaus at the time of the discovery. Since, Tschirnhaus died soon after the discovery and
Bottiger saw the process through to production, Bottiger is often credited with the discovery.
During this time in Europe, royal support or authorization was required to establish manufacturing companies with exclusive
rights to produce specific items, similar to present day licenses, unions or copyrights, licenses being granted to protect the
trades and guilds. The royal patronage was also required to provide the land and resources necessary to establish a business.
Hence Augustus the Strong supported the factory at Meissen 1710, but it wasn’t until 1751 that Frederick the Great established
a second Germany porcelain factory in Berlin. In the meantime, Rorstrand independently established a porcelain factory in
Sweden in the 1720s. The Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory was established May 1, 1775 in Denmark. Now royal
families from Germany, Sweden and Denmark had access to the white gold. From the early 1800s, more factories rose to
address the demand of the growing middle class that was burgeoning because of the increased trade as transportation and
communication improved. Conta & Boehme, originally founded in 1796 by Tobias but purchased in 1804 by Conta & Boehme,
expanded the porcelain industry. Dressel, Kister & Co. was founded in 1834 in Scheibe, Schwartzburg near Rudolstadt,
Thuringia. Kestner Co., having been granted a license for the manufacture of paper goods including papier-mache doll heads,
expanded in the 1830s by embracing this new material to make doll heads. (Not satisfied to make just papier mache and china
heads, the company also progressed to bisque doll heads in the 1870s as the market taste shifted. Hence the Kestner company
is truly the King of Dollmakers having used materials, styles and appealing to the popular market as it evolved over more than
100 years.). Other companies became established through out the 1800s (Kling, ABG, Hertwig etc) as a combination of factors
came together: the decrease in the limitations imposed by the guilds, availability of cheap materials and cheap labor as the rural
population shifted to the cities, communication (marketing) to develop markets for the goods (think trade fairs, magazines), the
improvement of transportation to distribute the goods (think trains, improved engines for ships), standardization of processes (
bureaucratization, mechanization and eventually assembly lines) and the increasing demands of the growing middle class. The
Industrial Revolution was in full swing.
Process of Making Porcelain
Porcelain is the combination of kaolin (white clay), feldspar and frit (ground glass) heated to high enough temperature to cause
chemical changes in the materials bonding them to form the vitreous, translucent product known as porcelain. The frit and
kaolin form a glass and mullite combination that is vitreous (glass like), translucent, strong, hard, brittle, non-porous and
resistant to chemicals, electricity and heat.
Kaolin is found throughout the world, especially in warm moist climates such as tropical rainforests, as the result of weathering
of an aluminum and silicate compound known as feldspar. Layers of aluminum are bound to layers of silica by oxygen
molecules. It is named for Gaolin, in China. It is mined in Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Australia, Korea,
China and the US.
Kaolin was used traditionally by parrots, and man, to soothe an upset stomach (It was at one time the active ingredient in
Kaopectate). Other uses include ceramics, medicine, coated paper (the gloss on magazines for example), food additive,
toothpaste, light bulbs, cosmetics, paints and inks.
Much skill is required in every step to form, decorate, finish, glaze, and fire ceramic wares to make fine porcelain. Once the
correct formula for the clay is determined, the material must be formed either freehand or on a wheel. Clay has a low plasticity
so is resistant to forming. Once formed the piece can be glazed and then fired the first time, or green fired, as was done in
China and early European porcelain. The piece may be decorated under or over the glaze. Modern techniques involve a first
or green firing, then decoration and glaze firing at a higher temperature.
Dating China Doll Heads
Early in the development of china head dolls, the porcelain slip was pressed into the head molds. Evidence of this is seen
inside the head with the uneven texture produced from the pressing. Later on, slip was poured into moulds. A pressed head is
older than a poured head from the same firm. However, a pressed head form a later firm may be younger than a poured head
from an earlier firm.
China doll heads are often dated by their design especially their hairstyles. However a popular style could span several
decades. For example the flat top hairstyle was exhibited in 1862 in London and still made in the 1880s. Dolls with longer
necks and fancy hairstyles generally represent women, while shorter necks and windblown hairstyles represent children and
those with long necks and side parts often represented males. Very early china heads from Meissen and KPM had brown hair.
Black hair followed by firms such as Kister, Kestner, Kling, Kloster Veilsdorf, and ABG. Blonde hair was rare early on but
common after 1880. Coiled buns and braids under exposed ears were characteristic of the dolls up to the 1840s. Covered
wagon and Greiner hairstyles appeared in the 1850s. Wigs on bald head dolls (incorrectly referred to as Beidermeiers) were
found in the 1850s. Alice styles with headbands, snoods and other decorative hair bows appear in the late 1850s and 1860s.
The common hairstyle, flat top, appeared in the 1860s and was used until the 1880s. By the 18700s, hairstyles became more
extravagant with curls, braids and fancy twists. As the popularity of the lady china head doll faded in the 1880s and was
replaced with the bisque doll head, the quality of molding and painting of the china dolls decreased as well. Later heads are
less well molded as the molds had been reused so much. Instead of lady dolls, many of the china dolls of the 1880s to 1900s
were made to represent children of the time. This coincides with the rise in the importance of “being a child” expressed by
educators and social philosophy of the time as well as the continuing rise in the middle class. Finally, in the early 1900s, dolls
with names printed on them appeared, the so called “Pet Name” chinas.
Early china doll heads were designed to be attached to peg wooden bodies. They are made with a hole in the base of the neck
to attach to the dowel of the body. Later heads were made to be sewn unto the bodies. They have holes pierced into the
shoulderplate for this attachment to cloth or leather bodies. Early on the heads were sold separately from the bodies. Often the
dolls have homemade bodies and very often homemade clothes that are original to that doll.
“Original” is a difficult and often misleading term in the collection of dolls. Factory original refers to a doll that could have been
purchased in the factory store—everything was made or assembled by the factory. Few of these early dolls exist. “Original to
the doll” states that the body or clothes were made for the doll but do not identify when in the doll's life they were made. They
may have been made by the doll’s first mommy or purchaser or they may have been made by the dealer the day before the
sale. It is the buyer’s responsibility to determine if the items “original to the doll” were made at the time the doll was made or
added later. Characteristics of construction, materials and style all contribute to this determination such that the study of the
doll may include the study of fabrics, construction techniques and styles of the times. “Period appropriate” or “period original”
indicates that the doll’s costume or body is from the correct era. Whether it was originally made for this head or another is not
specified. It may occur that an early doll was redressed in a later costume “period appropriate” to its new owner, perhaps a
daughter or grand-daughter. Again, it is the responsibility of the buyer to decide what is and is not period appropriate. Simply
using the term “all original” in reference to a doll can be misleading. The buyer must determine what is actually meant and what
they are willing to pay for the different terms.
European Manufacturers and their Characteristics
Few manufacturers clearly identified their china head dolls. Attempts have been made to identify one manufacturer from
another based upon criteria such as composition of the porcelain, shape of the shoulders and number of sew holes as well as
by painting style. Attempts to identify the manufacturer from the composition of the china head were futile when it was
determined that many manufacturers purchased their slip from the same source. Attempts to differentiate the factories based
upon a hard paste or soft paste formula were equally frustrated as most of the heads were “neither distinctly hard paste of soft
paste but a combination of the two” per Coleman’s Encyclopedia Vol. II. Shape of shoulders and number of sew holes was
dependent upon age of mold and events in the firing as well as the size of the shoulder head providing little differentiation
between manufacturers.
Mary Krombhols has identified characteristics of some manufacturers that aid in distinguishing many heads. Caution—not all
manufacturers were studied and not all dolls neatly fit into the criteria as supported by her research. Dolls can be attributed to
certain manufacturers based upon the characteristics but not necessarily proven to be from that manufacturer. Her identifying
characteristics are summarized in the chart at the end of this section and highlighted in the discussions of many of the dolls
presented.
Meissen
Chinese porcelain represented wealth and taste in 17th century Europe. Augustus the Strong of Dresden and Meissen in the
German state of Saxony, sponsored the research by Tschirnhaus into the development of white porcelain similar to that
imported from China in the early 1700s. Tschirnhaus had an extensive knowledge of science at the time and had been
involved in finding the formula for white porcelain. Bottger was assigned to assist him. Since Tschirnhaus died shortly after the
initial formulations were developed in 1708, and Bottger worked to develop the Meissen factory in 1710, Bottger is often given
the credit for the discovery. Meissen used the Chinese method of a single firing by glazing the initially formed piece and then
firing the combination at 1350 degrees C. Meissen was in commercial production by 1713. It was in the 1720s that the enamels
and detail style of Meissen fully developed. Style of the porcelain was borrowed from the original Chinese, from paintings by
Watteau, court scenes, landscapes, flowers etc. Solid colored pieces were made for other shops to finish and sell. While the
recipe was a closely guarded secret, as all secrets, it was soon leaked to other factories, notably in Vienna. By the 1760s many
factories in Europe made porcelain but, unlike Meissen, it was mostly soft paste porcelain.
Meissen company trademark is one of the oldest trademarks in existence. Per Wikipedia:
In order to identify the original Meissen products, Meissen developed markings that initially were painted on, but were soon fired
in underglaze blue. Early markings such as AR (Augustus Rex, the monogram of the King), K.P.M. (Königliche Porzellan-
Manufaktur), M.P.M. (Meissener Porzellan-Manufaktur), and K.P.F. ("Königliche Porzellan-Fabrik) were eventually replaced by
the crossed swords logo. Introduced in 1720, it was used consistently after 1731 by official decree. Variations in the "crossed
swords" logo allow approximate dating of the wares. Caution must be exercised, as Meissen is one of the most copied
porcelains.
The initials “KPM” is used in both the Meissen and Berlin porcelain factory trademarks. To remove confusion, some writers use
the terms KPM-Meissen and KPM-Berlin to indicate that both companies are King’s Porcelain Manufacture but they are located,
and, owned and operated, as distinct entities. Also, the use of the initials KPM is always associated with the crossed swords if
the piece is Meissen. The initials KPM with an orb represents the KPM of Berlin. They are different companies with different
formulas and artistic styles.
KPM-the Berlin porcelain factory
In 175l Frederick the Great, impressed by Saxony-produced Meissen porcelain, ordered a local merchant to set up a similar
factory in Berlin. Fascinated by the skills required in producing KPM porcelain, Frederick saw its manufacture in industrial
enterprise terms, one that would ultimately end in profits. He personally designed its proud blue sceptre trade mark, and
showed a keen interest in marketing and sales, while at the same time remaining one of KPM's best customers.
When he died in 1786, the factory passed into the hands of the Prussian state. When the Prussian monarchy ended in 1918 the
word "Royal" had to be dropped from its name, but this didn't stop it retaining its KPM initials. Its factory, located in the eastern
part of the city, suffered heavy damage during the 1939-1945 war, but most of its irreplacable designs were rescued.
Later it relocated to the western Tiergarten district, operating with the support of the West Berlin Senate. While Frederick the
Great paid much attention to KPM's financial viability in its early phase, attitudes changed later. In Cold War Berlin in the 1950s
and 1960s, increasing attention was paid to its "cultural worth". The factory might be losing millions every year, but in prestige
terms it was considered a West Berlin "jewel".
A note of caution in the use of KPM: The initials KPM stand for many things. Originally, KPM stood for Königliche Porzellan-
Manufaktur for the Meissen factory under Augustus Rex. Another use of KPM stood for Konigliche Porcelaine Fabrique for the
porcelain factory established in Berlin, a competitor to the factory in Meissen. KPM also stands for other German porcelain
factories including Kranichfelder, Krister, and Kerafina.
Rorstrand
The Swedish firm, Rörstrand, is the second oldest porcelain manufacturer in Europe and has been supplying people
contemporary porcelain products since 1726. While it primarily is noted for its tableware and decorative objects, it did create a
few dolls. Notable are the dolls produced early on with the braided hairstyles and decorated combs as seen in Legoland
collection. Later dolls are infrequently found.
The trademark is the R with the crown.
Royal Copenhagen
The Royal Copenhagen manufactory, whose 1775 operations began in a converted post office, was founded by chemist, Frantz
Heinrich Müller, who was given a 50-year monopoly to create porcelain.
The Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory was established May 1, 1775. From the beginning, each porcelain item was
marked with three waves symbolizing Denmark’s three straits: the Sound and the Great and Little Belts.
For almost 100 years after the establishment of the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory in 1775, the three waves were
painted by hand. But around 1870, the company began stamping the mark under the glaze – a tradition that lives on today.
The mark of the three waves has changed over time making it possible to date any piece of Royal Copenhagen Porcelain.
Some of the factory marks are shown.
Stamp in blue under the glaze, approximately 1870-1890 found on some dolls. Later marks include:
Stamp in violet or red over the glaze 1887-1892
Stamp in red or green over the glaze, used on request from USA for export goods in 1892
Crown and DANMARK stamped in green under the glaze, blue wave mark, 1894-1900
Crown and ROYAL COPENHAGEN stamp in green under the glaze, blue wave mark, 1889-approximately 1922
Hand painted mark in blue under the glaze, used for Juliane Marie porcelain (originally on reproductions of 18th century models)
since 1905
Hand painted mark used for production in China, 1921
Crown and DENMARK stamped in green under the glaze, blue wave mark, 1923
Stamp used to mark unbreakable porcelain and non-gloss porcelain, 1929-1950
Crown and ROYAL COPENHAGEN stamp in green under the glaze, blue wave mark, applied since 1923
Kestner
Kestner started making doll heads in the early 1800s and acquired facilities that allowed them to make the entire doll by the
1860s. Johannes Daniel Kestner, Jr., brought the craft of papier-mâché fabrication to his home in Waltershausen, Thuringia,
Germany, after a visit to France about 1805. By 1845 he had founded a successful doll business using primarily papier-mâché
heads on wooden peg-jointed bodies.
Kestner, an early proponent of porcelain heads, added these to his line possibly as early as the 1840s possibly by buying his
heads from Steudinger, Muller & Co. Kestner and Co. bought the factory in 1860. After his death in 1858, his widow and deputy
directors ran the business until his grandson Adolf Kestner took over in 1863. Kestner & Co, matched their shoulder heads with
cloth or leather stuffed bodies; however, Kestner also sold heads and bodies to many German doll assemblers. Kestner made a
more expensive leather body with rivet joints that allowed the limbs to move more easily than gusseted joints. The body parts
were made separately and jointed with a wire through the body and anchored on the outside with a rivet or button.
As the Kestner company grew in size and diversity, they made many styles of heads, including dolly faces and long faces similar
to Jumeau, square chubby faces similar to Bru, character faces, and faces with open mouths and teeth.
Kestner was probably the only German dollmaker that could make the entire doll. Besides leather bodies, Kestner made
composition and all-bisque bodies. The company continued to make dolls until 1938.
A. W. Fr. Kister
Dressel, Kister & Co. was founded in 1834 in Scheibe, Schwartzburg near Rudolstadt, Thuringia. The early doll heads had
hairstyles pulled over the ears into coiled and braided buns at the back of the head. In 1854 the firm participated in the
industrial exhibition in Munich with "figures and doll heads." In 1876 the firm closed and reopened under the name A. W. Fr.
Kister. after the new owner August Wilhelm Friedolin. The new firm was still offering doll heads and other toys in 1949.
Conta & Boehme
Conta & Boehme porcelain factory was established in 1790. The factory was founded by founded by Tobias Albert of Gera.
Conta & Boehme purchased the factory in 1804. The factory closed in 1937.
Kloster Veilsdorf
Closter or Kloster Viesldorf porcelain factory was wstablished in 1760. It was one of the Greiner porcelain factories. It made the
pet name china head dolls distributed by Butler Brothers in the early 1900s before it closed in 1930.
The Greiners were an active family of porcelain makers from the 1760s when Gotthelf and cousin Gottfried Greiner made the
first porcelain in Thuringia. The Greiners were granted concession to make porcelain in 1762. However, the granting Duke
prevented the successful founding of a factory at Limbach by limiting wood available for the kilns. The Greiners successfully
established a factory at Wallendorf in 1763. The cousins split in 1772 with Gotthelf counded his own factory at Limbach.
Following this in 1777, Grabner and Gotthelf Greiner's brother-in-law established a factory at Ilmenau. Extending the facily
dynasty, Gotthelf added the Grossbreitenbach factory in 1782. In 1799, the factory at Volkstedt was added. The factory at
Kloster Veilsdorf was added in 1795. Other factories founded by this dynasty include Rauenstein in 1783, Gera in 1779,
Blankenhain in 1779, Tettau in 1794 and Eisenberg in 1796, The factories functioned until 1945 when they nationalized by the
East German government.
Alt Beck and Gottschalk
Alt, Beck & Gottschalck - ABG - produced bisque or china heads on kid or cloth and all bisque dolls from 1854-1930's in
Nauendorf, Germany. The company was founded by four co-workers of the Kling factory. ABG started with the training its
founders received from Kling. When Gottschalk died in his widow married the company accountant Carl Halbig. Carl Halbig
worked with many of the firms contractors including Wilhelm Simon. In 1869, Halbig and Simon, with funding from the former
Mrs. Gottschalk, began the firm Simon and Halbig
Kling Porcelain factory was founded in 1834 in Ohrdruf. Christian Kling, the founder, died in 1870, the same year the company
started making dolls. The Bell was used as mark after 1880 with the K added in the 1930s.
Terms
Pottery is any object made of clay treated by firing. The clay can be baked in the sun or in a kiln. It is synonymous with ceramic
ware.
Bisque or biscuit is ceramic ware that has been fired. Bisque refers to the first firing of the pottery—the biscuit firing. Better
grades are translucent. It may be tinted or untinted.
Parian is untinted bisque. It has a flat, usually white, surface.
Porcelain is ceramic ware (pottery, bisque) that is a strong, vitreous, translucent material, biscuit fired at a low temperature and
gloss fired at a high temperature.
Soft paste porcelain is a combination of elements to produce porcelain that uses less frit (ground up glass) with the clay than
hard paste porcelain. It has a high pyroplastic deformation (it deforms easily when fired in the high kiln temperatures hence is
“soft”) which limits its usefulness. Soft paste with little clay is hard to form. More clay in the formula makes the piece easier to
form. The frit or ground glass determines the smoothness of the final porcelain. Less frit, as in soft paste porcelain, produces a
grainier finished product. Because of its tendency to deform, soft paste porcelain is fired at lower temperatures. This gives the
artist a wider range of available colors and decreases fuel consumption for the manufacturers. Soft paste porcelain is easily
scratched. Experiments at Rouen produced the earliest soft-paste in France by 1673. Little was produced there, however,
other French manufacturers included St. Cloud, Chantilly, Mennecy, Vincennes and Sevres. Soft paste porcelain was used in
England about 1742. The addition of bone ash produced bone china, perfected by Spode. Half dozen other manufacturers in
England used soft paste porcelain. It is not known if soft paste porcelain was made in Germany. However, given the multiple
experiments needed to develop a formula for porcelain, it is feasible that some early German porcelain would fall into the
category of soft paste (that made by the Medicis for example). There is much debate regarding the use of soft paste porcelain
in the manufacture of early doll heads.
Hard paste porcelain includes kaolin (white china clay), feldspar and quartz. This porcelain has a high concentration of frit to
clay. It can withstand high temperatures in the kiln without deforming. Hard-paste porcelain was successfully produced in
China centuries before it was first successfully produced in Europe at Meissen, Germany in 1708. It is the basis of modern
porcelain.
China is glazed porcelain. It has a shiny surface due to the glaze. Early china doll heads were made with hard paste porcelain
then glazed before firing. Later, china doll heads were biscuit fired, then painted and glazed, then fired again.
Process
Development of Porcelain
Chinese porcelain fragments have been found to date back as far as 9000 BCE though porcelain manufacture of substance is
generally dated to 100 CE or about the 7th century.
Chinese porcelain was reported to have been brought back to Europe by Marco Polo in the 1300s. As with any quality product
that is new and different and hard to obtain, it became an important status symbol among the wealthy. While the porcelain was
brought to Europe, the secret to making the porcelain, or white gold as it was called, was protected in China by the death
penalty. The Medici’s in the 1500s sponsored the development of a type of porcelain, very possibly a soft paste porcelain.
However it was made for exclusive use of the Medici’s. It was not until the early 1700s that the Arcanum (process of making
porcelain) for a hard paste porcelain comparable to Chinese porcelain was discovered by Tschirnhaus under the patronage of
Augustus the Strong of Saxony, Germany. Bottiger, an alchemist who claimed he could make gold from base metal, upon failing
to produce the gold, assisted Tschirnhaus at the time of the discovery. Since, Tschirnhaus died soon after the discovery and
Bottiger saw the process through to production, Bottiger is often credited with the discovery.
During this time in Europe, royal support or authorization was required to establish manufacturing companies with exclusive
rights to produce specific items, similar to present day licenses, unions or copyrights, licenses being granted to protect the
trades and guilds. The royal patronage was also required to provide the land and resources necessary to establish a business.
Hence Augustus the Strong supported the factory at Meissen 1710, but it wasn’t until 1751 that Frederick the Great established
a second Germany porcelain factory in Berlin. In the meantime, Rorstrand independently established a porcelain factory in
Sweden in the 1720s. The Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory was established May 1, 1775 in Denmark. Now royal
families from Germany, Sweden and Denmark had access to the white gold. From the early 1800s, more factories rose to
address the demand of the growing middle class that was burgeoning because of the increased trade as transportation and
communication improved. Conta & Boehme, originally founded in 1796 by Tobias but purchased in 1804 by Conta & Boehme,
expanded the porcelain industry. Dressel, Kister & Co. was founded in 1834 in Scheibe, Schwartzburg near Rudolstadt,
Thuringia. Kestner Co., having been granted a license for the manufacture of paper goods including papier-mache doll heads,
expanded in the 1830s by embracing this new material to make doll heads. (Not satisfied to make just papier mache and china
heads, the company also progressed to bisque doll heads in the 1870s as the market taste shifted. Hence the Kestner company
is truly the King of Dollmakers having used materials, styles and appealing to the popular market as it evolved over more than
100 years.). Other companies became established through out the 1800s (Kling, ABG, Hertwig etc) as a combination of factors
came together: the decrease in the limitations imposed by the guilds, availability of cheap materials and cheap labor as the rural
population shifted to the cities, communication (marketing) to develop markets for the goods (think trade fairs, magazines), the
improvement of transportation to distribute the goods (think trains, improved engines for ships), standardization of processes (
bureaucratization, mechanization and eventually assembly lines) and the increasing demands of the growing middle class. The
Industrial Revolution was in full swing.
Process of Making Porcelain
Porcelain is the combination of kaolin (white clay), feldspar and frit (ground glass) heated to high enough temperature to cause
chemical changes in the materials bonding them to form the vitreous, translucent product known as porcelain. The frit and
kaolin form a glass and mullite combination that is vitreous (glass like), translucent, strong, hard, brittle, non-porous and
resistant to chemicals, electricity and heat.
Kaolin is found throughout the world, especially in warm moist climates such as tropical rainforests, as the result of weathering
of an aluminum and silicate compound known as feldspar. Layers of aluminum are bound to layers of silica by oxygen
molecules. It is named for Gaolin, in China. It is mined in Brazil, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Australia, Korea,
China and the US.
Kaolin was used traditionally by parrots, and man, to soothe an upset stomach (It was at one time the active ingredient in
Kaopectate). Other uses include ceramics, medicine, coated paper (the gloss on magazines for example), food additive,
toothpaste, light bulbs, cosmetics, paints and inks.
Much skill is required in every step to form, decorate, finish, glaze, and fire ceramic wares to make fine porcelain. Once the
correct formula for the clay is determined, the material must be formed either freehand or on a wheel. Clay has a low plasticity
so is resistant to forming. Once formed the piece can be glazed and then fired the first time, or green fired, as was done in
China and early European porcelain. The piece may be decorated under or over the glaze. Modern techniques involve a first
or green firing, then decoration and glaze firing at a higher temperature.
Dating China Doll Heads
Early in the development of china head dolls, the porcelain slip was pressed into the head molds. Evidence of this is seen
inside the head with the uneven texture produced from the pressing. Later on, slip was poured into moulds. A pressed head is
older than a poured head from the same firm. However, a pressed head form a later firm may be younger than a poured head
from an earlier firm.
China doll heads are often dated by their design especially their hairstyles. However a popular style could span several
decades. For example the flat top hairstyle was exhibited in 1862 in London and still made in the 1880s. Dolls with longer
necks and fancy hairstyles generally represent women, while shorter necks and windblown hairstyles represent children and
those with long necks and side parts often represented males. Very early china heads from Meissen and KPM had brown hair.
Black hair followed by firms such as Kister, Kestner, Kling, Kloster Veilsdorf, and ABG. Blonde hair was rare early on but
common after 1880. Coiled buns and braids under exposed ears were characteristic of the dolls up to the 1840s. Covered
wagon and Greiner hairstyles appeared in the 1850s. Wigs on bald head dolls (incorrectly referred to as Beidermeiers) were
found in the 1850s. Alice styles with headbands, snoods and other decorative hair bows appear in the late 1850s and 1860s.
The common hairstyle, flat top, appeared in the 1860s and was used until the 1880s. By the 18700s, hairstyles became more
extravagant with curls, braids and fancy twists. As the popularity of the lady china head doll faded in the 1880s and was
replaced with the bisque doll head, the quality of molding and painting of the china dolls decreased as well. Later heads are
less well molded as the molds had been reused so much. Instead of lady dolls, many of the china dolls of the 1880s to 1900s
were made to represent children of the time. This coincides with the rise in the importance of “being a child” expressed by
educators and social philosophy of the time as well as the continuing rise in the middle class. Finally, in the early 1900s, dolls
with names printed on them appeared, the so called “Pet Name” chinas.
Early china doll heads were designed to be attached to peg wooden bodies. They are made with a hole in the base of the neck
to attach to the dowel of the body. Later heads were made to be sewn unto the bodies. They have holes pierced into the
shoulderplate for this attachment to cloth or leather bodies. Early on the heads were sold separately from the bodies. Often the
dolls have homemade bodies and very often homemade clothes that are original to that doll.
“Original” is a difficult and often misleading term in the collection of dolls. Factory original refers to a doll that could have been
purchased in the factory store—everything was made or assembled by the factory. Few of these early dolls exist. “Original to
the doll” states that the body or clothes were made for the doll but do not identify when in the doll's life they were made. They
may have been made by the doll’s first mommy or purchaser or they may have been made by the dealer the day before the
sale. It is the buyer’s responsibility to determine if the items “original to the doll” were made at the time the doll was made or
added later. Characteristics of construction, materials and style all contribute to this determination such that the study of the
doll may include the study of fabrics, construction techniques and styles of the times. “Period appropriate” or “period original”
indicates that the doll’s costume or body is from the correct era. Whether it was originally made for this head or another is not
specified. It may occur that an early doll was redressed in a later costume “period appropriate” to its new owner, perhaps a
daughter or grand-daughter. Again, it is the responsibility of the buyer to decide what is and is not period appropriate. Simply
using the term “all original” in reference to a doll can be misleading. The buyer must determine what is actually meant and what
they are willing to pay for the different terms.
European Manufacturers and their Characteristics
Few manufacturers clearly identified their china head dolls. Attempts have been made to identify one manufacturer from
another based upon criteria such as composition of the porcelain, shape of the shoulders and number of sew holes as well as
by painting style. Attempts to identify the manufacturer from the composition of the china head were futile when it was
determined that many manufacturers purchased their slip from the same source. Attempts to differentiate the factories based
upon a hard paste or soft paste formula were equally frustrated as most of the heads were “neither distinctly hard paste of soft
paste but a combination of the two” per Coleman’s Encyclopedia Vol. II. Shape of shoulders and number of sew holes was
dependent upon age of mold and events in the firing as well as the size of the shoulder head providing little differentiation
between manufacturers.
Mary Krombhols has identified characteristics of some manufacturers that aid in distinguishing many heads. Caution—not all
manufacturers were studied and not all dolls neatly fit into the criteria as supported by her research. Dolls can be attributed to
certain manufacturers based upon the characteristics but not necessarily proven to be from that manufacturer. Her identifying
characteristics are summarized in the chart at the end of this section and highlighted in the discussions of many of the dolls
presented.
Meissen
Chinese porcelain represented wealth and taste in 17th century Europe. Augustus the Strong of Dresden and Meissen in the
German state of Saxony, sponsored the research by Tschirnhaus into the development of white porcelain similar to that
imported from China in the early 1700s. Tschirnhaus had an extensive knowledge of science at the time and had been
involved in finding the formula for white porcelain. Bottger was assigned to assist him. Since Tschirnhaus died shortly after the
initial formulations were developed in 1708, and Bottger worked to develop the Meissen factory in 1710, Bottger is often given
the credit for the discovery. Meissen used the Chinese method of a single firing by glazing the initially formed piece and then
firing the combination at 1350 degrees C. Meissen was in commercial production by 1713. It was in the 1720s that the enamels
and detail style of Meissen fully developed. Style of the porcelain was borrowed from the original Chinese, from paintings by
Watteau, court scenes, landscapes, flowers etc. Solid colored pieces were made for other shops to finish and sell. While the
recipe was a closely guarded secret, as all secrets, it was soon leaked to other factories, notably in Vienna. By the 1760s many
factories in Europe made porcelain but, unlike Meissen, it was mostly soft paste porcelain.
Meissen company trademark is one of the oldest trademarks in existence. Per Wikipedia:
In order to identify the original Meissen products, Meissen developed markings that initially were painted on, but were soon fired
in underglaze blue. Early markings such as AR (Augustus Rex, the monogram of the King), K.P.M. (Königliche Porzellan-
Manufaktur), M.P.M. (Meissener Porzellan-Manufaktur), and K.P.F. ("Königliche Porzellan-Fabrik) were eventually replaced by
the crossed swords logo. Introduced in 1720, it was used consistently after 1731 by official decree. Variations in the "crossed
swords" logo allow approximate dating of the wares. Caution must be exercised, as Meissen is one of the most copied
porcelains.
The initials “KPM” is used in both the Meissen and Berlin porcelain factory trademarks. To remove confusion, some writers use
the terms KPM-Meissen and KPM-Berlin to indicate that both companies are King’s Porcelain Manufacture but they are located,
and, owned and operated, as distinct entities. Also, the use of the initials KPM is always associated with the crossed swords if
the piece is Meissen. The initials KPM with an orb represents the KPM of Berlin. They are different companies with different
formulas and artistic styles.
KPM-the Berlin porcelain factory
In 175l Frederick the Great, impressed by Saxony-produced Meissen porcelain, ordered a local merchant to set up a similar
factory in Berlin. Fascinated by the skills required in producing KPM porcelain, Frederick saw its manufacture in industrial
enterprise terms, one that would ultimately end in profits. He personally designed its proud blue sceptre trade mark, and
showed a keen interest in marketing and sales, while at the same time remaining one of KPM's best customers.
When he died in 1786, the factory passed into the hands of the Prussian state. When the Prussian monarchy ended in 1918 the
word "Royal" had to be dropped from its name, but this didn't stop it retaining its KPM initials. Its factory, located in the eastern
part of the city, suffered heavy damage during the 1939-1945 war, but most of its irreplacable designs were rescued.
Later it relocated to the western Tiergarten district, operating with the support of the West Berlin Senate. While Frederick the
Great paid much attention to KPM's financial viability in its early phase, attitudes changed later. In Cold War Berlin in the 1950s
and 1960s, increasing attention was paid to its "cultural worth". The factory might be losing millions every year, but in prestige
terms it was considered a West Berlin "jewel".
A note of caution in the use of KPM: The initials KPM stand for many things. Originally, KPM stood for Königliche Porzellan-
Manufaktur for the Meissen factory under Augustus Rex. Another use of KPM stood for Konigliche Porcelaine Fabrique for the
porcelain factory established in Berlin, a competitor to the factory in Meissen. KPM also stands for other German porcelain
factories including Kranichfelder, Krister, and Kerafina.
Rorstrand
The Swedish firm, Rörstrand, is the second oldest porcelain manufacturer in Europe and has been supplying people
contemporary porcelain products since 1726. While it primarily is noted for its tableware and decorative objects, it did create a
few dolls. Notable are the dolls produced early on with the braided hairstyles and decorated combs as seen in Legoland
collection. Later dolls are infrequently found.
The trademark is the R with the crown.
Royal Copenhagen
The Royal Copenhagen manufactory, whose 1775 operations began in a converted post office, was founded by chemist, Frantz
Heinrich Müller, who was given a 50-year monopoly to create porcelain.
The Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory was established May 1, 1775. From the beginning, each porcelain item was
marked with three waves symbolizing Denmark’s three straits: the Sound and the Great and Little Belts.
For almost 100 years after the establishment of the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory in 1775, the three waves were
painted by hand. But around 1870, the company began stamping the mark under the glaze – a tradition that lives on today.
The mark of the three waves has changed over time making it possible to date any piece of Royal Copenhagen Porcelain.
Some of the factory marks are shown.
Stamp in blue under the glaze, approximately 1870-1890 found on some dolls. Later marks include:
Stamp in violet or red over the glaze 1887-1892
Stamp in red or green over the glaze, used on request from USA for export goods in 1892
Crown and DANMARK stamped in green under the glaze, blue wave mark, 1894-1900
Crown and ROYAL COPENHAGEN stamp in green under the glaze, blue wave mark, 1889-approximately 1922
Hand painted mark in blue under the glaze, used for Juliane Marie porcelain (originally on reproductions of 18th century models)
since 1905
Hand painted mark used for production in China, 1921
Crown and DENMARK stamped in green under the glaze, blue wave mark, 1923
Stamp used to mark unbreakable porcelain and non-gloss porcelain, 1929-1950
Crown and ROYAL COPENHAGEN stamp in green under the glaze, blue wave mark, applied since 1923
Kestner
Kestner started making doll heads in the early 1800s and acquired facilities that allowed them to make the entire doll by the
1860s. Johannes Daniel Kestner, Jr., brought the craft of papier-mâché fabrication to his home in Waltershausen, Thuringia,
Germany, after a visit to France about 1805. By 1845 he had founded a successful doll business using primarily papier-mâché
heads on wooden peg-jointed bodies.
Kestner, an early proponent of porcelain heads, added these to his line possibly as early as the 1840s possibly by buying his
heads from Steudinger, Muller & Co. Kestner and Co. bought the factory in 1860. After his death in 1858, his widow and deputy
directors ran the business until his grandson Adolf Kestner took over in 1863. Kestner & Co, matched their shoulder heads with
cloth or leather stuffed bodies; however, Kestner also sold heads and bodies to many German doll assemblers. Kestner made a
more expensive leather body with rivet joints that allowed the limbs to move more easily than gusseted joints. The body parts
were made separately and jointed with a wire through the body and anchored on the outside with a rivet or button.
As the Kestner company grew in size and diversity, they made many styles of heads, including dolly faces and long faces similar
to Jumeau, square chubby faces similar to Bru, character faces, and faces with open mouths and teeth.
Kestner was probably the only German dollmaker that could make the entire doll. Besides leather bodies, Kestner made
composition and all-bisque bodies. The company continued to make dolls until 1938.
A. W. Fr. Kister
Dressel, Kister & Co. was founded in 1834 in Scheibe, Schwartzburg near Rudolstadt, Thuringia. The early doll heads had
hairstyles pulled over the ears into coiled and braided buns at the back of the head. In 1854 the firm participated in the
industrial exhibition in Munich with "figures and doll heads." In 1876 the firm closed and reopened under the name A. W. Fr.
Kister. after the new owner August Wilhelm Friedolin. The new firm was still offering doll heads and other toys in 1949.
Conta & Boehme
Conta & Boehme porcelain factory was established in 1790. The factory was founded by founded by Tobias Albert of Gera.
Conta & Boehme purchased the factory in 1804. The factory closed in 1937.
Kloster Veilsdorf
Closter or Kloster Viesldorf porcelain factory was wstablished in 1760. It was one of the Greiner porcelain factories. It made the
pet name china head dolls distributed by Butler Brothers in the early 1900s before it closed in 1930.
The Greiners were an active family of porcelain makers from the 1760s when Gotthelf and cousin Gottfried Greiner made the
first porcelain in Thuringia. The Greiners were granted concession to make porcelain in 1762. However, the granting Duke
prevented the successful founding of a factory at Limbach by limiting wood available for the kilns. The Greiners successfully
established a factory at Wallendorf in 1763. The cousins split in 1772 with Gotthelf counded his own factory at Limbach.
Following this in 1777, Grabner and Gotthelf Greiner's brother-in-law established a factory at Ilmenau. Extending the facily
dynasty, Gotthelf added the Grossbreitenbach factory in 1782. In 1799, the factory at Volkstedt was added. The factory at
Kloster Veilsdorf was added in 1795. Other factories founded by this dynasty include Rauenstein in 1783, Gera in 1779,
Blankenhain in 1779, Tettau in 1794 and Eisenberg in 1796, The factories functioned until 1945 when they nationalized by the
East German government.
Alt Beck and Gottschalk
Alt, Beck & Gottschalck - ABG - produced bisque or china heads on kid or cloth and all bisque dolls from 1854-1930's in
Nauendorf, Germany. The company was founded by four co-workers of the Kling factory. ABG started with the training its
founders received from Kling. When Gottschalk died in his widow married the company accountant Carl Halbig. Carl Halbig
worked with many of the firms contractors including Wilhelm Simon. In 1869, Halbig and Simon, with funding from the former
Mrs. Gottschalk, began the firm Simon and Halbig
Kling Porcelain factory was founded in 1834 in Ohrdruf. Christian Kling, the founder, died in 1870, the same year the company
started making dolls. The Bell was used as mark after 1880 with the K added in the 1930s.
The above table provides a guideline for the identification of unmarked china heads but no rule is immutable-variations can be
found. Caution must also be exercised in identifying an unmarked china head doll as there were many small manufacturers
whose styles are not known. Without a mark, it might be appropriate to indicate a doll head is “attributed” to a particular firm.
Others pottery factories that made dolls include the American Fulper factory; French firms of Limoges, Huret and Rohmer;
English china; and other German manufacturers including Heubach, Armand Marseilles, Simon and Halbig among others.
Descriptions of these manufacturers will be found on the pages with their dolls.
In 1890 the McKinley Tariff Act passed requiring goods to be marked with their country of origin. Consequently a doll marked
“Germany” was made after 1890. The Act was revised in 1921 to require the words “made in” plus the country. A doll marked
“Made in Germany” then was made after 1920.
And then the industrial revolution became a real revolution which affected the companies in many industries including porcelain
and doll making. War wreaks havoc on a society. Factories found it difficult and ultimately impossible to retool to the “old” ways
after WWII. The war had produced new materials and destroyed old means of production resulting in the decrease of European
porcelain dolls and the increase in American composition dolls.
Modern China dolls including artist, reproduction and fakes
Emma Clear
Ruth Gibbs
Re-issue of the KPM dolls in the 80s
Fakes
Contemporary Artist dolls: Annette Himstedt, Hildegard Gunzel and other modern artists who work in porcelain.
Bisque Dolls
Before beginning, it is important to be clear on terms.
Porcelain is a general term for glazed or unglazed fired clay.
China is the specific term for glazed fired clay or bisque. It is shiny.
Bisque is the specific term for hard ceramic material (fired clay) with a matte or unglazed finish. The better the quality, the more
translucent the bisque. There are two kinds of bisque: tinted and untinted (incorrectly referred to as parian). The clay mixture is
pressed (earlier) or poured (later) into the mold, allowed to dry, removed from the mold, smoothed and baked at high
temperature.
Quality of the bisque doll head depends upon the original design of the mold, grade of materials used to make the clay, the firing
techniques, the cleaning and polishing, and the painting. As with any ceramic product, from dishes to statuettes, the
composition of the clay makes a difference in the ultimate product. This is due to the differences in clay and other products in
the slip or mixture. Hence Lennox is different from Limoges, Wedgewood is different from Spoede, and Chinese porcelain is
different from Meissen whether we are discussing dolls or dishes. Formulas for the clay are very closely guarded secrets. Firing
techniques depend on the kiln. Early kilns were wood burning and required constant monitoring to feed the fire. Even so, the
temperatures would vary causing differences in the final product. Electric kilns on the other hand maintain constant temperature
that produces more even baking of the clay. Cleaning of the greenware (head after moulding but before firing) or the whiteware
(fired head) is done by hand. The skill of the worker then contributed to the quality of the final product. Complete removal and
smoothing of mold lines and smooth sanding of the fired head determine the base before the painting. The artistic abilities of the
painters in conjunction with the skill of the initial designer of the mold give the piece the final “look”.
Large production facilities were required to bake the ceramic so few small manufacturers are found. The appearance of bisque
doll heads therefore followed the rise of the ceramic manufacturers as various countries industrialized. Consequently, bisque
doll heads appeared in Bavaria, Thur and Bohemia areas of Germany around 1860; Paris and Limoges, France around 1860;
England and America around 1915, and Japan around and after WWI. The Thuringia area of Germany was particularly well
suited for porcelain production as it had natural deposits of high quality kaolin, abundant forests to fuel the furnaces and making
doll bodies, years of training for whole families of skilled laborers as well as a strong cottage industry to provide low cost
outsourced labor.
Bisque was used to create dolls that were all bisque (bathing dolls of jointed all bisque or the stiff frozen charlottes), just had
bisque heads and shoulders on cloth or leather bodies, bisque limbs and sometimes bisque body sections as in the doll patent
by Motschmann in 1857 after the Taufling babies from Japan presented at the 1855 Paris Exposition.
As with the ruling families, companies used various strategies to survive including providing services for other companies,
training workers who migrated between companies, creating strategic alliances/marriages and ultimately uniting together against
a common competitor. Bisque dolls were produced in Germany, France and America.
Similar to the history of Europe, as one studies the history of dolls, it is apparent how interrelated the companies were.
Individuals established companies which provided their own products but also products for other factories. Simon and Halbig,
for example, produced heads for Kammer and Rhienhardt among others. Staff trained in one factory worked in others
throughout a given career. Members of one doll making family married into other doll making families (Simon and Halbig for
example). Designers for one company designed for others so heads had certain similarities even though they were made in
different parts of the doll world. Ultimately, for their own survival, some companies banded together (see SFBJ) to fight against
a common competitor
German makers include Kestner, Kling, Limbach, Baehr & Proschild, Simon & Halbig, Armand Marseilles, Alt, Beck &
Gottschalk. French bisque makers include Jumeau, Bru, Steiner, AT, Halopeau. American pottery maker Fulper also made
bisque dolls.
References
Borger, Mona. (1983). Chinas Dolls for Study and Admiration. Borger Publications San Francisco Ca.
Coleman, D.S., Coleman, E. A., and Coleman, E. J. (1968). The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Dolls. Crown N. Y., N. Y.
Coleman, D.S., Coleman, E. A., and Coleman, E. J. (1986). The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Dolls Vol II. Crown N. Y., N. Y.
Krombohlz, Mary. (2002). German Porcelain Dolls 1836-2002. Hobby House Press Grantsville Md.
Krombholz, Mary. (2004). Identifying German Chinas 1840s-1930s. Hobby House Press Grantsville Md.
Personal communication with major china doll collectors
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