Stephens PotteryFor All Your Pottery Requirements

Dolls – Toys From Antiquity

Dolls are probably been since prehistoric times, and can also be the earliest type of toy by man were used. These dolls were certainly made of natural materials such as clay, wood and fur. Many of them may have been used as a toy, but it is believed that they are often used to represent a deity, and probably played an important role in religious rituals and ceremonies.

None of these ancient dolls have survived through the ages, but dolls have often been found in Egyptian tombs from as far as 3000 years. Some of these dolls were made of ceramic, but most were flat pieces of wood painted with different designs and made with hair of stringed wooden beads or clay. Dolls in the graves of Greek and Roman Children have been partly found with movable limbs and removable clothing.

Later, Europe became a major producer of wooden dolls. Some of these Dolls were made of logs, while others are "rod" puppets, made with simple pin joints, similar to a clothespin. Composition dolls made from mixtures of pulped wood or paper that were molded under pressure, developed in the 1800s. These dolls were durable and could be mass produced be. Dolls with wax heads were also in the 17th and 18 Century popular. Porcelain and bisque dolls was the beginning of the 19th Century popular.

The French "Bebe" dolls were popular in the 1880s. Until that time, represented the most adult puppet characters. The bebes were different because younger Girls represented. In the 1900s, were realistic German bisque dolls introduced and became very popular. This began to create a continuing trend, realistic dolls.

Rag and cloth dolls have been hand made for centuries. 'Rag' dolls are of any substance, while dolls are specially made of linen or cotton as a "cloth" Dolls. The commercial production of dolls was started in the 1850s in England and America.

Only after the Civil War, the doll is an important industry was in the United States. Most dolls were produced in New England, and were made of various materials such as paper mache, leather, fabric and rubber. Celluloid was in the 1860s Years has been developed and to use in the manufacture of dolls 1950th Although these dolls mass production could be very cheap, they were highly flammable, and would in light Light fade.

Hard plastic dolls were made in the 1940s, and dolls made of vinyl, rubber and foam rubber were in the 1950s and 1960s. The use of vinyl allowed doll makers to insert hair into the head instead of hair color, wigs or use.

Modern dolls have traditionally been toys for children, and 'action figures' representing 'superheroes' are now very popular with boys. There are even "virtual" dolls on the Internet, can be designed to disguise and was playing on Web sites. Most dolls are now made with modern materials and mass production techniques. However, dolls are now collected from adults, and some manufacturers use the same types of materials that were used in the past, the creation of "vintage style" collector dolls. But regardless of the doll, they all have their roots back to prehistoric times. They are really "toys from antiquity."

GalaxyOfStores is an online shopping for thousands of different products for the whole family. Please visit for more interesting http://ActionFiguresDollsAndStuffedToys.GalaxyOfStores.com Articles, and a large selection of children's toys and visit http://GalaxyOfStores.com for all his great products.

About the Author

Making Clay Pots on a Pottery Wheel : Preparation for Bisque Firing a Clay Pot