Parian Dolls

My collection of parian dolls.

I love parian dolls.  This is a picture of my parian doll collection.  While none of mine are antique, they are commercial reproductions from the 1940's and 1950's.  They were imported as a head, hands and feet with a pattern for the bodies.  I bought most of them already put together with no clothes.  They were bought one at a time as I found them. Over time I have dressed them.  I love them and wish I had more of them.  Does a doll lover and collector ever have enough dolls.  There are two or three more I have that are not dressed yet.  Maybe I will get them finished in the future.

More pictures of my collection of parian dolls.

As the price of antique dolls continue to rise I am happy to have my reproductions.
I am seeing collectors buy reproductions.  A few years a reproduction was
frowned on, but most collectors can't spend thousands on a real antique.



This is an antique parian and worth thousands of dollars.  They are  unique beautiful dolls.

 Meissen parian doll

Some History of Parian Dolls

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 English developed the first parian-ware in the 1840s, and exhibited parian-ware figures at the London International Exhibition in 1851. These figures proved to be very popular, inspiring the Germans to develop their own version of parian porcelain. Soon the many competing German Thuringian companies began making doll heads and limbs in the unglazed white porcelain bisque. They found that they could achieve a higher degree of detail in the modeling than had been possible with the glazed china pieces. Therefore parian dolls can be found with more elaborate hairstyles and in greater variety than the glazed china dolls. There were so many porcelain factories in Thuringia, that it is often very difficult to tell which company made a specific doll. They copied each other's popular models, and employees drifted back and forth between factories. 


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.

Another antique Meissen parian doll.