Dollieh Sanctuary

Forgive me if this post is in the wrong spot!

I'm trying to identify, date, or value these antique dolls for my mom, who got them from her grandmother. They have to be before 1950, though they may be as early as 1930. We don't know too much about them, but I'll outline what I know!

First doll pictured is marked from the Soviet Union (label pictured), though I can't find a date or maker's mark. Her legs are wooden, while her face and hands are fabric-covered. I'm not sure what her body is made of, though it feels like it may be wood covered with thick fabric. Her face is hand painted directly on the fabric.









Doll number two is the one I have the least information on. My mom believes she's from Japan. Her face and hands are made of some kind of plaster I believe, though I'm not entirely sure. She has a paper underskirt that looks like it has a mark of some kind, but it's worn away. Her hair is glued on.







The third doll is all wooden with a hand painted face. She has no maker's marks, but my mom's grandmother did get her from Switzerland in 1933. She is jointed in the neck, elbows, hips, and knees with peg and slot joints.







Any help with more information on these dolls would be greatly appreciated, as all my doll experience is with modern BJDs and vinyl figures. We'd ultimately like to find the value, but any info or tips would be fantastic. Feel free to ask more questions, I'll do my best to answer!

Number 2 is an Itchimatsu doll. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_dolls Her head and hands are made of gofun, which is stuff made from ground up seashells. Yours looks like she was made before they became mostly a tourist item (mine has a celluloid baby doll body with a cryer), back when they were still the kind of doll that little Japanese kids played with.

The Soviet Union doll shows up as a Ziqanka Roma (gypsy) doll.

With old Soviet/Russian dolls half of it is figuring out what region their costumes are from.

DollyKim wrote:The Soviet Union doll shows up as a Ziqanka Roma (gypsy) doll.

With old Soviet/Russian dolls half of it is figuring out what region their costumes are from.

Tam I am wrote:Number 2 is an Itchimatsu doll. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_dolls Her head and hands are made of gofun, which is stuff made from ground up seashells. Yours looks like she was made before they became mostly a tourist item (mine has a celluloid baby doll body with a cryer), back when they were still the kind of doll that little Japanese kids played with.

Wow, thank you both so much! I really appreciate this info, it helps me a lot. My mom was super interested to hear more about these dolls, and this info gives me a great base to start looking for dates and values!

You can find a LOT about the Itchimatsu dolls on YouTube and other sites. They're kind of a cultural item. New artists have started making really beautiful and fancy ones.

I mean.

You're welcome! I'm just excited to actually know something! XD

The wooden Swiss doll is probably a 1945-1950 tourist souvenier doll, dated back to when Switzerland was getting back on its feet after WWII, tourism was picking up, GIs were stationed in a lot more overseas bases than we have in Europe now, and handicrafty things like this were popular souveniers for local villages to sell. It's not a doll intended to be played with, because the headdress is glued to the head, and it's not a valuable doll, because the lace is very cheap mass-manufactured nylon lace and not the fine handmade lace Switzerland was famous for.