Brams/Americana
Description:
Pair of Polychrome Carved Articulated African/American Dolls, mid to late 19th century, wearing original clothes with buttons, with stands, (textiles worn),ht. 10 1/4 in. N.B. The dolls were found in separate locations in Maine and Massachusetts, but would appear to have been made by the same hand. The mask-like quality of the faces suggests an African/American carver. Provenance: Raymond Saroff/Howard Rose collection, Aarne Anton/American Primitive Gallery. Literature: These dolls are pictured in Roger Ricco and Frank Maresca's AMERICAN PRIMITIVE: DISCOVERIES IN FOLK SCULPTURE, (New York, 1988),p. 137, fig. 184. It is also illustrated in UNEXPECTED ELOQUENCE THE ART IN AMERICAN FOLK ART, Selections from the Howard Rose/Raymond Saroff American Folk Art Collection, (New York, 1989),published to coincide with their exhibition "The Fine Art of American Folk," The Edith C. Blum Institute, Bard College, 1990.
Estimate $8,000-12,000