Doll News Fall 2017 - 30

M

echanical toys have always
fascinated me since my
childhood. The very first antique
mechanical doll I saw was a socalled "gigoteur" by Steiner.
It was so attractive to see such an original early
bisque baby, crying and moving at the same time
that I would have loved owning one, however, the
open mouth with two (!) rows of teeth was much
too much for me. I never had the joy of owning
that mechanical baby because of his open mouth. It
seemed to me that the baby had to keep his mouth
open just to breath freely. This feeling was much too
frustrating and painful for me, so years passed by
and that mechanical doll never came home.
But, from time to time, as life reserves some
surprise for us, two years ago, a friend offered me
one of her "gigoteurs" to take home with me for
study. She thought it was very special and should
be of great interest to me. And yes, this doll was
special in many ways, and is one of the reasons I
have decided to write an article about the Steiner
Asian-type baby, and more particularly, about some
Steiner "gigoteur" dolls.
Some information about antique Japanese babies
dolls for play may be helpful in understanding the
history of these dolls. Until the 18th century, most
of Japanese dolls were frozen in a single pose. Then,
in the 18th century, a different doll developed,
well adapted to play of all kinds as the limbs were
jointed, making it easy to change the doll's clothing
or pose the doll. These jointed play dolls are called
"Ichimatsu ningyo,," after a popular kabuki actor of
the 18th century. Sanogawa Ichimatsu was using
puppets and could well have been a pioneer in
developing jointed miniature dolls.
The most elaborately jointed Ichimatsu dolls are
the "mitsu-ore" (three-folds dolls) that are, most
of the time, anatomically correct. These dolls are
usually jointed at hips and knees, and sometimes
at the ankles as well, so they can be posed in the
classical Japanese kneeling position, but also a
sitting one or even able to stand up.

This illustration, circa 1740, by Masanobu of
Sanokawa Ichimatsu shows him holding one
of his puppets.

This Ichimatsu play doll from the 1800s is correctly
proportioned and anatomically correct (boy) with fleshcolored gofun skin and black glass eyes. Note the ring
finger and major one are united like those of the Steiner's
"gigoteur," as well as the separate big toes of the feet.
The doll measures 55cm. Private collection Japan
DOLL NEWS * UFDC.ORG

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