Peg wooden dolls, also known as Dutch dolls (), are a type of wooden doll from

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

, Italy. They originated as simple

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the w ...

-turned dolls from the

Val Gardena Val Gardena (; ; ) is a valley in the Dolomites of South Tyrol, Northern Italy. It is best known as a tourist skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving area. Geography The valley's main river is the Derjon, a tributary of the Eisack river. The ...

in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. The name Pennywoods is also used for dolls of this type, in particular those made in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. These dolls were sold undressed. Children would then make their clothing from scraps of fabric. Other similarly-constructed wooden dolls, using a jointing technique where the arms and/or legs are attached to the body with pegs, are some of the oldest surviving

doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

s, and were made worldwide. Sometimes a peg wooden doll's arms or legs are locked together by the jointing system, so if one arm is moved the other will move. An advanced form of peg joints is where the body pegs are "split" and attached separately allowing independent movement. ''Tuck comb dolls'' are a special style of peg wooden doll, named for their carved hair

comb A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...

. The head and body are turned as one piece. The hair is usually painted with curled fringes and with a painted comb. Early tuck comb dolls had elongated, graceful proportions, nicely carved details, painted slippers, and sometimes with wood pendant earrings. Some dressed as merchants were called ''pedlar dolls''.

Gallery

File:Dressed dutch doll Gröden.jpg, Peg wooden doll from

, late 19th century File:Penny or stickdoll.jpg, Peg wooden doll from Val Gardena, late 19th century File:Second dressed dutch doll Gröden.JPG, Peg wooden doll from Val Gardena, late 19th century File:Dutch doll from Gröden.jpg, Peg wooden doll from Val Gardena, late 19th century File:Dutch doll Gröden rear view.jpg, Peg wooden doll from Val Gardena, late 19th century, rear view

References

{{Netherlands-stub Traditional dolls Wooden dolls

Gallery

See also

References