A charming circa 1830 Grodnertal Doll is one of the highlights of Tennants Auctioneers’ Costume, Accessories and Textiles Sale on 28th May, offered with an estimate of £600-800 (plus buyer’s premium). Such dolls were made in the Grodnertal region of Germany in the 19th century and are of a simple carved wooden design with joints pinned with wooden dowels or pegs, leading to their other name of Peg Dolls. Each doll, which were produced in several sizes, has painted hair and a carved and painted comb on the top of their heads. Often the dolls were sold without any clothes, as the children for whom these dolls were brought were encouraged to make their own dolls clothes. This doll wears a possibly original dress and has attached metal earrings, which are rare but highly sought-after additions to Grodnertal Dolls.
Two interesting samplers will also pique the interest of collectors, the first being an 18th century example, made by Martha Hayter in 1741. The Band Sampler, thus named as the decorative stitches and text are worked in bands, features figures known as ‘boxers’ due to their pose with arms raised in front of their faces in a fighting stance. However, this motif actually represents suitors carrying a flower aloft for their sweetheart. The sampler, which is worked in silks, is offered with an estimate of £800-1,200. Also of note is an Adam and Eve Sampler, worked by Maria Phillis Indermaur in 1799 when she was 9 years old (estimate: £200-300). Maria was born in Southwark, to the south of the Thames in 1790 and died in Norfolk in 1850.
