The Doll as Theatre:
Neapolitan and Continental Dolls of the 17th and 18th Century from the Hanne BĂźktas Collection Article by Florence Theriault
The Doll as Theatre: Neapolitan and Continental Dolls of the 17th and 18th Century from the Hanne BĂźktas Collection
The costumes, in scale, color and thoughtfullycrafted details, contribute to the subtle realism and found in each doll.
BACKGROUND It was not uncommon in the 18th century for a doll to be presented within its own miniature dollscaled world. There was the French wooden court doll, usually posed in the presence of other court figures, each of which was singularly carved to represent a specific person, their collective purpose to insinuate a rumored scandal of the court. There was the English wooden doll, often housed in a perfectly scaled setting designed as a replica of the family manor, replete with a bounty of related miniatures from everyday life. The Japanese Ningyo, too, were showcased to tell a story, punctuated with accessories ranging from animals to furnishings to foods; this was most tellingly evident in the elaborate arrangements created for annual celebrations.
the extraordinary Mon Plaisir doll mansion of Princess August Dorothea which comprised over 400 dolls and 2670 pieces of furniture and accessories, arranged to represent everyday life in the village as well as the palace, to the carved wooden crib figures of old Bavaria and the Tyrol. “The accumulation of architectural detail is as characteristic
In Germany, the tradition was even more dominant, ranging from
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of the Tyrol cribs as the superabundance of figures. A crib belonging to the Jaufental family… mingled dwellings of the Tyrol Alps with architecture of the Renaissance, Temples, and a hill castle. For the six scenes [which] it represented it utilized twentyfour buildings, 256 human and 154 animal figures” wrote Max Von Boehn in Dolls and Puppets, 1956. For each of these dolls, characterization was paramount. Facial expressions were sculpted and painted to represent moods of festivity, anger, anguish, joy and every other emotion imaginable. Bodies were designed to articulate, to a greater or lesser degree, the better to enhance the expression through pose, while costuming, ranging from sumptuous silks and embroidery to simple homespun and lambswool, defined the social station of each person. Dolls were theatre! But nowhere was the human theatre in dolls more vividly seen than in Naples, Italy. Although, the origin of the Neapolitan doll dates centuries earlier, it was during the mid-late 18th century (1734-1805), during the reign of the Bourbon kings, that its
popularity reached a peak. During that era, known as the Golden Age of Naples, the city soared to an artistic, intellectual and cultural apex that was rivalled only by Paris. Among the most noted artistic work of this era was that known as the Presipio or crib scene. Make no mistake. What began centuries earlier as a simple crib scene depicting the birth of Jesus, had now evolved into far more. The presentation depicted an entire village in miniature encompassing nobility, merchants, housewives, children and animals in everyday life scenes. Grapes were gathered by winemakers, men herded their animals, women tended their crying or mischievous children, vendors offered their wares, musicians
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Hanne and Umur Büktas’ collection is expertly showcased to emphasize the characters and how they play off of one another in beautiful interactive scenes.
The sculpting and painting add to the dramatic quality of the faces.
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played, people reveled at banquet tables. The simple crib scene, in short, had come to depict a full panorama of village life. It was grand, sometimes filling an entire room of an aristocratic mansion. How did this happen? How did a simple scene evolve into becoming so grand, so opulent, so extraordinary in its artistry and storytelling? It was an 18th century fusion of historical and social events, a “perfect storm� of traditional Neapolitan reverence for the arts with extreme wealth and the competitive desire to display that wealth. Too, marriages with other European royal families, such as that of Maria Amalia of Saxony and Maria Carolina of Austria, served to bring a more cosmopolitan and sophisticated air to the Naples artistic scene. Maria Amalia, queen consort from 1738-1759 of Charles III, was born in Dresden of Saxony, considered the birthplace of European porcelain manufacturing, and among her contributions to the arts of Naples was the 1743 introduction of porcelain production, most notably in her sponsorship of the Capodimonte Porcelain Manufactory. It is believed that some of the notable Neapolitan artists who designed for that manufactory also created earthenware figures for the Neapolitan scenes. As for Maria Carolina of Austria,
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queen consort from 1759-1768 of Ferdinand IV of Naples, her involvement in the creation and popularity of the dolls was more specific; it is known that she and her court ladies dressed the dolls in fashionable silks and embroideries encrusted with real jewels. Maria Carolina’s husband, King Ferdinando IV, was particularly mesmerized by the theatre of the scenes, too, and, under his encouragement, in 1784 Maria Caroline established the philanthropic San Leucio colony, a village with its own unique laws and customs whose sole object was to weave silk whose use was so prevalent in the costuming of Neapolitan figures. Celebrated fine artists and sculptors were involved in the creation of these figures. There was Francesco Celebrano, Painter to the Royal Chamber under Fernando IV. Francesco Gallo, modeler at the Royal Porcelain Factory in Palermo in 1788, designed animal figures inspired by animals in the Royal Zoo in Naples. And there was Lorenzo Mosca, Giuseppe Gori, and Sanmartino (Sammartino), considered the leading Neapolitan sculptors of the 18th century. COLLECTING OF THESE DOLLS TODAY Yet despite the artistic quality of these dolls, despite their variety of facial models, despite the masterpiece quality of their costuming, the collecting of these dolls remains an outlier in most doll collecting circles today. Why is that?
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Some argue that they are not really dolls, they are not playthings. This is folly. As dolls are miniature representations of people, as they lend themselves to feed our imagination, as they can be arranged in infinite scenes, as each face speaks differently to each observer, so they are dolls. That their clothes could not be removed and re-dressed is hardly an argument, as this is generally true of most dolls created during this time period when costumes were commonly tacked or glued to the bodies. That they have little articulation is irrelevant, as, again, this could also be said about a myriad of other figures we call dolls. But what do we – today’s collectors – name these figures? Creche figures or presepio figures are inaccurate phrases, the models having moved far distant from the original crib scene and, mainly, for entirely different purposes. As an example, during the 1700s production era, the dolls were predominantly attired in costumes of that current time; indeed, the various workshops vied to present the most up-todate styles of each current year, much as a century later did the makers of the French poupée. And since the specific artist or workshop of the majority of the dolls can, at best, be only “attributed to”, it is not sensible to identify in that manner. It seems, then, that the collector must resort to the generic name style used for other dolls of the
Scenes are often elevated by the expressiveness of the characters themselves.
Whether the doll is displayed individually or in a group, gestures of the hands play an important role in the narrative.
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17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, that is, Grodnertal Wooden Doll, French Court Doll, English Wooden Doll‌ and, simply, Neapolitan Doll. LEARNING MORE Because few study guides have been written about these dolls, collectors are hesitant to enter this specialty of doll collecting. But it is like all areas of collecting, one nudges a little, then a little more, and suddenly it begins to make sense and you can lay out a plan. Will your focus be the facial models with their incredible expressions (that you might display nearby your German art character children of 150 years later to illustrate influence)? Will you choose according to costumes, looking to assemble those with the finest silks, embroideries and jewels (that you might display in a chronological manner nearby your couturierattired French poupÊes)? Will you search for those few with connections to known artists? Will you choose men, women, children, or all? Will you choose for individual exhibition or seek to create a scene, much like the
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Naples aristocracy who first commissioned the dolls? Ah, so many choices. So much learning, so much pleasure! There are other reasons to collect these fine dolls. There are the social connections you might make with other collectors in related areas such as antique Christmas objects, textiles and tapestry or Neapolitan paintings of the same era whose scenes so closely resemble Neapolitan doll vignettes. There is the excellent state of preservation in which most of the Neapolitan dolls are found so little restoration or curating is ever necessary; they are ready for display! And there is opportunity! For collectors seeking something different, especially something that combines history, artistry and affordable prices, this could be a golden opportunity. It is certain that given the combination of their 200+ years of age, their level of artistry, their variety, their excellent state of preservation, and their petite size so desired by today’s collectors living in
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smaller homes, their current market values are most reasonable. Although few English-language books have been written on the subject, there are some useful references including The Angel Tree from the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a fact-filled chapter of “The Creche in Eighteenth-Century Naples”; The Golden Age of Naples, Art and Civilization Under the Bourbons, 1734-1805, 1981, a two-volume book published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Art; A Nativity from Naples, Presepe Sculpture of the 18th Century from the Kimbell Art Museum of Fort Worth, 2008; Il Presepe Napoletan (in English and Italian) edited by Catello, (Guida, 2005) and Dolls and Puppets by Max Van Boehn (Branford, 1932, 1956). THE HANNE BÜKTAS COLLECTION Doll collectors are familiar with the discerning collections of Hanne Büktas which have graced Theriault’s auctions in past years, ranging from The Hanne Büktas Collection of Antique Needlework Tools and Sewing Accessories to Lady Fancies, Half-Dolls, Bathing Beauties and More, to The Hanne Büktas Collection of French Poupées, Their Trousseaux and Accessories. It was while collecting French poupées that Hanne Büktas began the pursuit of other Continental dolls including Grodnertal, Genovese and Neopolitans, and, as was the case with her poupée collection, the pursuit encompassed each aspect of that collecting niche, including furnishings, accessories, animals, and other accoutrements. This is her final remaining collection, her favorite, and it will be presented in two separate events by Theriault’s on December 5, 2020 and March 2021. A special commemorative 2-volume catalog is in preparation and will feature nearly 500 dolls and hundreds of related ephemera, furnishings, and accessories. x
Tapestries and textiles are represented with an ornate quality of richness, from vending scenes to baroque, and together with the dolls, present a visual feast and craftsmanship rarely found in dolls of this size.
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