All Porcelain Dolls
maria menke

My dolls are naturalistic presentations of children of various ages.

I have been producing porcelain dolls since 1997 because I have always been fascinated by the body and its proportions. By means of their articulation the dolls achieve various bearings and postures, and, when positioned together, are fully effective and convincing as a group. Each edition is limited to five to 10 dolls maximum and the height of the dolls varies from 30 to 50 cms (12 up to 20 inches). Depending upon the idea I want to carry out I model the hair or various kinds of headgear as a final step. The material I use for the wigs is either mohair or real hair. Also the dolls' eyes are either painted or made of hand-blown crystal glass. I design and make the outfits myself for each doll individually in accordance to the individual type of doll.

Both the different quality of each facial expression and the dolls' bearing which can be varied creates different moods and impressions on the part of the observer.