A life-like doll, set to be discarded, was sold at a whopping price at an auction. Despite having its foot chewed off by a mischievous puppy and a missing index finger from its right hand, the doll captured the attention of bidders. A bidder from the US bought this rare antique for a staggering sum of £52,675 (more than ₹54 lakh).
Standing at approximately 56 cm (22 inches) tall, this doll of a boy is clothed in an original knitted ecru cotton bodysuit. The meticulously crafted ensemble includes a contemporary cotton checked shirt, navy woollen shorts, and a beautiful cape with a hood and cotton checked trim.
Originating from Germany around 1910, the Kammer & Reinhardt doll is considered a rare antique. Although auction house Vectis estimated that the doll could fetch a price between £12,000 and £17,000, its unique appeal and scarcity in the market led to a bidding frenzy that exceeded all expectations. The auction house told BBC that dolls of this kind ‘only come up for sale every 20-30 years.’
These dolls, based on real children and crafted for adult collectors, held great significance in their time. However, the demand for such dolls waned after World War I. The auction house has attested to the doll’s exceptional rarity and uniqueness. They reported that only a handful of examples are known to exist worldwide among dolls of this larger size, featuring fine modelling, intense expression, and translucent painting.
The seller told BBC that the doll belonged to their grandmother and was later passed down to the family. It was discovered while clearing out their unwell mother’s house. “He has always lived in the living room on the sofa for as long as I can remember and our late dog chewed his foot off when he was a naughty puppy,” the seller told BBC.
{{/usCountry}}The seller told BBC that the doll belonged to their grandmother and was later passed down to the family. It was discovered while clearing out their unwell mother’s house. “He has always lived in the living room on the sofa for as long as I can remember and our late dog chewed his foot off when he was a naughty puppy,” the seller told BBC.
{{/usCountry}}They added, “Due to having so much furniture and mementos to sort out, we were having to be quite ruthless with what we were keeping so I put him on the pile of things to be skipped. However, my husband remembered the doll fondly and decided to put him in the ‘to keep pile’ and afterwards we realised how special he was.”