Spotting fake Antique Dolls

First of all, I have been making Reproductions of Antique Dolls for over 25 years..I can usually spot one across the room.. But, I'm not talking about dolls that reputable doll artists make.. I'm talking about those that someone made to DELIBERATELY fool you..And some are quite good . If you are interested in purchasing what you believe to be an antique doll... Either buy, go to the library or get online and find out everything you can about that doll, it's maker, current price trends, but most especially what that doll looks like
I could fool a lot of people with my dolls, but don't try because I am not a crook, but also because I am proud of what I make.. Most Doll artists belong to one or more organizations that encourage the making of dolls and as part of that they have to have the same ethics as the organization..A reproduction is normally signed on the back of the neck or behind the ear of the doll.. That lets you know right now, it's a reproduction. However, a fake will NOT be signed..Some fakes are not even good reproductions ! That's why the pictures are so important and of course, if you can visit a Doll Museum or Doll shop where some antique dolls are available for study, even better..If you can find one like the one that you want, better yet.. You can see exactly what it looks like and the price being asked...Here are things to gepare to the doll you want to buy..
First the eyelashes.. VERY few antique dolls have perfect lashes.. That is to say.. they are not each identical to the other.. One eye might even have more lashes than the other, but they will be very tiny lines.. They won't look like a match stick!
Second, the eyes themselves.. Does this doll have sleep eyes? Was She supposed to? Lots of people do not know how to reset sleep eyes if they fall out, so they just glue or plaster them in and they no longer sleep. Or if it's a newer doll..it may have newer eyes..A real giveaway...But, here again, you must have some knowledge of eyes.. One can buy new eyes that look old, but they are very expensive and unless someone is trying to fake out a very expensive doll, would most likely not use those. In all cases the antique doll would have glass eyes NOT plastic. You will want to look closely at the eye cut.. The eye should be fairly symetrical, although some antiques I've seen have had some pretty crooked cuts.. The porcelain along the eye opening should be very thin. Is your doll supposed to have black lining the upper part of the eye opening.....how about the bottom? Should she have any shadow above the eye.. What color should it be? Usually you will only find the eyeshadow on antique dolls.. My Steiner has a strange sort of fleshy pinky lavender color.. Yeah.. I did finally figure out how to mix it in my paints.. That's just an example.
Third, the eyebrows.. Boy, can some mess these up! But, by geparing them to the antique you can almost always tell if the doll is a reproduction. To me the eyebrows are a real challenge to paint since (it seems) no two are alike!! Here again, the fineness of the painting can tell you something. Now, there are some antique dolls that are very crudely made.. After all, some of those people were beginners too.. But, if it's that crude..do you really want to buy it? The placement of the brows is crucial.. Many reproduceddolls have brows so high they have this surprised look .
Whatever you do, check out the porcelain.. If it's antique you want to be sure there are no cracks or breaks.. If the head has been repaired in any way, the seller should tell you this.. But, they really don't know sometimes, so do it yourself.. It's o.k. to buy a damaged doll, but be sure you get it forthe right price.
The body will tell you lots. I should qualify this.. A person that I know of used an antique french fashion body and put a fake head on it.. It was a good fake, but there was just something amiss.. Since I paint, sometimes it's paint color that I see. Sometimes the paint has too much orange.. On this one it was the eye cut. Eyes cut way smaller than they should be. I did a little research and found a person who actually knew about that particular fake.. Luckily the seller gave me all my money back. This can hold true of geposition bodies too.. It may be a fake head on an antique body.. So, just look at everything and be careful.
Today, one can buy mohair..leather bodies...gepo bodies...glass eyes... Just about everything you need to reproduce a doll that would pass for an antique.. The final test, of course, is the ability of the doll artist.
This information should be helpful when you are shopping on okay.. Many sellers just don't know an antique from a bad reproduction. But the sad part is that some do know the difference and will sell a fake anyway. So Use caution.