Auctions: Philadelphia-area auctions offer dolls and pottery pigs
20.05.12
Their creator was Elena Konig Scavini, whose German nickname was "Helenchen," a diminutive further contracted to Lenci, according to information at www.lenci-dolls.net . Ars Lenci, as the company was called, specialized in pressed-felt dolls.
While the name today is not as well known as Kestner, Schoenhut, or Madame Alexander, all of which are also represented in the sale, the dolls were stylized, elaborately costumed, and costly for their time, which explains why they were so highly prized. They had heads crowned with human hair or mohair and faces characterized by sideways-glancing eyes.
Perhaps the best of those in the Alderfer sale is a 24-inch, all-original Lady Queen Doll with a floral crown, one of several dolls from the estate of the well-known New Jersey dealer and collector Jody Abrams. Made in the 1930s, it has a presale estimate of $1,000 to $2,000, the online session's highest, according to the illustrated auction catalog.
Also from the '30s: three 23-inch-high, all-original children, two girls and a boy, each expected to bring $1,000 to $1,500; and an 18-inch girl figure that apparently was sold in Buenos Aires. It and a 17-inch "Lenci-type" doll, also from the Abrams estate, both have mid-three-figure price estimates. From Lenci's final days is a 17½-inch Grazie figure made in 1984 ($100 to $200).
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer