No. 02

Armand Marseille 1894

German Antique Bisque Doll (original)

Details

Maker: Armand Marseille (Koppelsdorf, Thuringia, Germany)
Mold: No. 1894
Mark: 1894 AM DEP
Period: c. 1900-1910
Type: Bisque socket head, original antique

About this doll

An original bisque doll by Armand Marseille, one of Germany's best-known antique doll makers. She is dressed for winter in a fur-trimmed hat, a brown velvet coat and a fur muff.

The back of the neck carries the incised mark '1894 AM DEP'. The number 1894 is the mold number, not the year of manufacture, and DEP is short for the German 'Deponirt', meaning a registered design. Having survived for well over a century, the doll shows the craftsmanship and taste of German dollmaking at its height.

Background

Armand Marseille was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1856 and moved to Germany with his family in the 1860s. In 1885 he bought a porcelain factory in Koppelsdorf, near Sonneberg in Thuringia, and began making doll heads. At its peak (c. 1900-1930) the factory turned out about 1,000 heads a day, making it one of the largest bisque-head producers in the world.

The most common molds are 390 (socket head) and 370 (shoulder head). Mold 1894 is associated with the 'Floradora' line and was made in sizes from 23 cm to 107 cm. Typical features are glass sleep eyes that close when the doll is laid down, an open mouth showing teeth, a mohair wig and a jointed composition body. The firm merged with Ernst Heubach in 1919, separated again in 1932 and ceased production soon after.

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