Sandwich Auction has another doll advertised as an Izannah Walker doll to be auctioned August 19th. I received an email in which someone wondered if this was a Reuben Bates doll. I'd be interested inknowing what readers think. Here's a link to the listing with additional photos.
http://sandwichauction.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=62572&weid=0&weiid=9382628&archive=n&keyword=izannah&lso=timeleftasc&pagenum=1&lang=En
She's certainly got most of the hallmarks of an Izannah, the only difference I see is the face seems to be collapsing on itself, and the hairline is different.
ReplyDeleteThere could have been 'duds' that weren't made quite as well, perhaps without the proper stuffing/filling that would result in the dented face. They could have enlisted another person to do the painting on this one, stylistically it seems a tad different. Or they just tried something new, perhaps for a specific customer request?
I think Robin makes some good points. All these things could be true. the doll to me doesn't look like a Izannah Walker doll, even a bad looking one. If I were a buyer, I don't think I would get it. I am probably wrong, I usually am, but there are to many differences and unless it was badly damaged, it looks like some one else tried to make this doll. Izannah made some beautiful dolls, so we know she was a talented painter, like her family was. I just don't see her making a doll that looks like this.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that doll is made by Izannah Walker and I wonder about the age on her. People have been trying to duplicate Izannah's dolls and others for a long time. I think it is a later copy just like we all try to do. You would have to see her up close. The picture I remember of the Bates doll looked much closer to Izannah than this doll does.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it can possibly be an Izannah doll. Even accounting for years of wear, it would take something really dramatic to cause the misshapen face and head. It's almost like it melted somehow, which of course isn't possible. The body, especially the shoulderplate area, is bulkier than a Walker doll and the neck is very thick, making the chin recedes to the point of invisibility from the side. The features aren't right either, although there is always the possibility of any doll having been repainted somewhere along the way. The feet look right from what I can see in the picture and the hands look to be okay, but the arms aren't as slender as Izannah's. I think it's some kind of older reproduction.
ReplyDeleteNancy