european-dolls

The dolls Museum of Paris open its doors for the summer to the nice regional and folk dolls of Europe.

Historical and climatic Reasons are at the biginning of these dolls. They appear after the Révolution Française and with evolution of design and colors for all the people.

To take up the expression of Mister Samy Odin

" Real identity card, these regional dolls are going to take a political dimension every time a country will feel threatened "

So, in France, the dolls of Alsace and Lorraine countries have make the Great War by changing the color of their knot of their head-dress or, also, by the wearing of the french roundel.

We can also mention the Britain country, the identical spirit of which still very present expresses itself, nowadays and always by the wearing of the regional dress.

It is especially true at the old persons who frequent the church and put on by their magnificent laces.

But it is necessary to say, it is thanks to dresses worn by the dolls said now " folk " that we find the regional fashion of the diverse French and European provinces. These dolls are also our collective and wise heritage which sort them in the category of toy, of suit and of local customs.

The summit of the interest of the beauty of these dolls was reached the World Fair of 1889 when Miss Marie Koenig at the origin of their realization and presentation obtained an unexpected but completely deserved success. It was moreover worth to her the golden medal in the World Fair of 1900.

It was there regional dolls which are still in french museums. Some years later, taking advantage of this fashion, dolls toys appeared. Of regional, they became quickly folk, but were very carefully dressed in always regional attires.

With the development of the journeys and the large-scale tourism from 1930s, always regional in the spirit, they became " dolls-souvenir " brought back by the place of holiday resort. Numerous industries, both in France and in the rest of Europe ( Italy, Autriche, Germany ), dedicated themselves in their exclusive manufacturing enough late during the XXth century.

Their true decline began in the fifties. Of charming such as they were conceived at first, they became of simple objects, very manufactured, realized at a lower cost and naturally the quality was not any here.

Avoided by the amateur collectors of nice true dolls toys they made become more rare. It seems however, and maybe thanks to such exhibitions ( the Odin Museum is for the second presentation of this beautiful subject ), that more numerous amateurs every day, discover them under a new day with a new glance.

All the countries of Europe had their dolls to remember folk but it is indisputably in France where they were the most varied, the suit varying not only from a region to the other one but also from a village to the other one. It was true notably for the very diversified headdresses which are sometimes the object of studies or specific theses but it stays also true for the whole of suit. To speak only about the French region " Provence-Alpes-Côte d' Azur " which groups together among others Provence, the Earldom of Nice, the Venessin Earldom, the region Grassoise, numerous are the attractive very typical dresses without forgetting Principauté of Monaco who has its traditions too.

Hélène BUGAT-PUJOL

09.06.06

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