Porcelain dolls - Start a porcelain doll collection today

The porcelain doll naturally reflected the fashions and trends of the time, and this means that collectors have very many different models and eras to choose from; fashion changes between countries and between ages, and the vast range of different styles means a great deal of choice when building up a porcelain doll collection.

By the middle of the 1840's the baby porcelain doll had become popular, rather than simply being a fashion doll that was meant as a reflection of the times, and this led to a change in buyers attitudes; indeed, the baby doll we see today cuddled and held by many a child is a direct result of the popularity of baby porcelain dolls in the early Victorian era.

By this time it was not just the UK and Germany who were manufacturing various types of porcelain doll, as France had also entered the market with some very impressive and innovative designs too.

The French dolls were somewhat different in that they kept to the head only design and featured bodies made from a wide variety of products, as well as extremely delicate moulding and very advanced features that moved the porcelain doll towards the designs we know and love today.

The French moved toward making a full body porcelain doll in the 1860's, and these very delicate and quite beautiful models are among the most sought after type of porcelain doll.

From that time on the porcelain doll seems to have settled into a routine and the designs vary little from that they did back then, and collectors look to the Victorian era for the most collectable and desirable types of porcelain doll. One for the adult doll lover rather than the child, the porcelain doll is an iconic item that endures to this day.

Start a Porcelain Doll collection

The porcelain doll remains a very popular doll – particular for collectors – among buyers today and it also has an illustrious history.

Several hundred years of development have accompanied the porcelain doll during its lifetime, and it is now a very different item to that which first appeared.

These days the porcelain doll is very much made for the collectors market, with special limited edition runs of particular designs aimed at investment buyers and made to very high quality, and are coveted by people who build up a porcelain doll collection as a hobby or pastime.

Looking at the history of the porcelain doll it is interesting to note that the first came about in Cornwall in the 18 th century, with 1770 being the date that is generally accepted as being reasonably accurate.

However, what the makers came up with in the South of England all those years ago were porcelain doll heads rather than full dolls, and they also featured hair that was moulded in porcelain as well as facial features.

Not long after this date the Germans began their own take on the porcelain doll, these being distinct from the English versions as they were head and shoulders models rather than simply heads, and the progression from head to full dolls was clearly on the way.