Lovely c. 1800 Hand-drawn Patterns (Presumed for Embroidery), Ink on Watermarked Laid doll head with wire earrings One can see some color

One can see some color from the rags stuffed inside showing through the cream colored fabric of its "skin" (which has a bit of a silky sheen) beneath the darning

There is some some cracking where the composition covering the body meets the painted wooden legs and a bit of scuffing and paint loss here and there

I was struck by the beauty and sensitivity of this portrait before I learned it was drawn in prison

What a happy bell this is

) Clearly it was used

Lovely c. 1800 Hand-drawn Patterns (Presumed for Embroidery), Ink on Watermarked Laid doll head with wire earrings One can see some colorI believe this these drawings were made as embroidery patterns and I can very much imagine them executed in very fine silk thread. I love them rendered in ink though, on early watermarked laid paper, with wonderful passages of detail, tiny stars and crosshatching and squiggly lines with dots to either side. Lovely. Late 18th very early 19th century European I believe, with watermark detailed in last photo, which I have not researched. 12 7 8" x 7 3