Figurine - Half doll pincushion - Porcelain, Textile

Antique c.1920s Porcelain Dutch Girl Half Doll Pincushion – Grapes – Original Silk & Lace – 15cm

Auction description

Beautiful and unusual antique porcelain half doll pincushion, dating approximately to the 1920s, depicting a young lady in traditional Dutch-style costume.

The porcelain figure is particularly charming, wearing a distinctive bright yellow traditional bonnet/headdress with red side details, a blue blouse and finely hand-painted facial features. She is posed with one arm resting at her waist while the other is raised holding a small cluster of red grapes with a green stem.

The colours remain exceptionally vibrant for a piece of this age, particularly the strong yellow, blue, red and green decoration. The moulded bonnet and separately modelled raised arm and grapes make this a much more characterful example than the more commonly encountered standard lady half dolls.

The porcelain figure measures approximately 6 cm high.

She remains mounted on her original period pincushion, forming a full skirt in a pale champagne/ivory fabric decorated with multiple bands of delicate lace. The surviving original textile work is an important feature of the piece and gives a wonderful indication of how these half dolls would originally have been displayed and used.

Measurements:

* Porcelain half doll: approx. 6 cm high
* Overall height: approx. 15 cm
* Width: approx. 9 cm
* Depth: approx. 9 cm

The porcelain is in exceptional antique condition, with no obvious chips, cracks or repairs visible from inspection, and the painted decoration remains remarkably fresh and colourful.

The original fabric and lace also survive extremely well considering their age. There is some light age-related discolouration, spotting and wear to the textile and lace, entirely consistent with an approximately 100-year-old pincushion. I have deliberately left the original material untouched and uncleaned in order to preserve its authenticity.

A beautiful and increasingly difficult-to-find complete example, especially appealing because it retains its original pincushion and textile costume rather than the porcelain figure alone. The Dutch traditional-costume subject and tiny bunch of grapes make it a particularly decorative and distinctive addition to a collection of antique German/European porcelain half dolls, pincushion dolls or early 20th-century sewing accessories.

Circa: 1920s
Material: Glazed porcelain, fabric and lace
Condition: Exceptional antique condition; original textiles retained. Please study all photographs carefully as they form an important part of the description.