Antique Chinese Late

Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s


Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s
Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s
Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s
Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s
Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s

Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s  Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s
Antique Chinese Male Opera Doll, ca. Late 1800s early 1900s, wearing a silk costume of royal purple and red, decorated with silk embroidery.

This handsome gentleman features a finely painted papier-mâché, or composition, head with a wooden torso, articulated arms and legs, and papier-mâché hands with long, delicate fingers. Measures: 10 to top of headdress, a silk hat embroidered with silk flowers.

Silk costume is a bit faded in front. The doll is good condition. Appreciated by the most s.

Ophisticated collectors, these remarkable and somewhat rare Chinese Opera Dolls are also known as Royal or Merchant dolls or puppets. The elaborate decoration of the intricately embroidered silk costumes denotes the high status of the male and female opera characters depicted and are often trimmed with soft white fur. Made of papier-mâché or composition, the heads are removable. During opera puppet shows, this made for easy wardrobe changes and character shifts. Their exquisite faces have delicately painted features.

The hair is painted and the head is often signed on back of the neck. The hair of female dolls is decorated with colorful glass beads, gold swirls, tiny wire coils and fabric pompoms.

Fully jointed arms and legs can be posed numerous ways. Thin bamboo poles could be inserted into the long sleeves making puppets of these charming dolls. The tradition of Chinese puppetry originated during the Han Dynasty, and grew throughout the Tang, Song and Qing dynasties. We will be listing many wonderful opera dolls in the future. All of these dolls are antiques or vintage and may show some discoloration, fading and minor wear.

We will list any damages that can be seen. Please ask any questions you might have and we will try to answer. Both female and male dolls of all sizes will be shown. The item "Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s" is in sale since Monday, February 3, 2020.

This item is in the category "Dolls & Bears\Dolls\Antique (Pre-1930)\Bisque\French". The seller is "bethabarahouseantiquesandthingsuncommon" and is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This item can be shipped worldwide.

  1. Modified Item: No
  2. Country/Region of Manufacture: China
  3. Custom Bundle: No
  4. Skin Color: Fair/Light
  5. Material: composition, wood
  6. Original/Reproduction: Original
  7. Doll Size: 11 in
  8. Non-Domestic Product: No
  9. Features: Antique
  10. Hair Color: Black
  11. Ethnicity: Chinese
  12. Eye Color: Black
  13. Doll Gender: Male


Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s  Exquisite Chinese Male Opera Doll, 10, in Purple & Red, ca. Late 1800s-1920s