Sasha dolls

Sasha dolls are a type and series of doll created by Swiss artist and dollmaker Sasha Morgenthaler (1893–1975), produced in Germany and the United Kingdom beginning in the late 1960s. Popular with collectors, Sasha dolls are characterized by their individualism, their realistic expressions, their unique color, and the extreme attention to detail in the manufacture of the dolls as well as their clothes. It is said by Juliette Peers that: "Sasha dolls are renowned for possessing a solid intellectuality." Morgenthaler created face sculpts for her dolls with subtle expressions, not artificially exaggerated smiles: her concern was that children surviving the horrors of WWII would not relate to such happy dolls in times of terror. It was said of Morgenthaler herself, as a child, that "When she was sad, she did not like her dolls uncompromising smiles. Once she grabbed a nail file and scraped off her doll's false grin..." In her own words, "No grotesque caricature can awaken a child's true feelings. A piece of wood, barely carved, is far superior to a conventional doll with an exaggerated smile."

Sasha Morgenthaler was an artist working most often in sculpture and paint, her early life was enriched by visits to the von Sinner family home from great artists such as Paul Klee, who supervised her artistic education and introduced Morgenthaler to members of the Der Blaue Reiter such as Wassily Kandinsky. Paul Klee orchestrated Morgenthaler's entry to the School of Fine Arts at Geneva. Morgenthaler married fellow artist Ernst Morgenthaler. Morgenthaler decided in the 1960s to mass-produce dolls at reasonable prices after years of making dolls herself for the studio, on commission, and for private individuals. Two companies were licensed to produce the dolls: Götz in Germany and Frido (later Trendon) in the UK. Production in Germany ran from 1965 to 1969 and from 1995 to 2001, while the UK production ran from 1966 to 1986.

Dolls were produced in different styles, wearing different clothes, and with subtle variations (mostly in painting) that individualize and particularize each. Asymmetrical and made of hard vinyl with elastic stringing enabling them to take poses, Sasha dolls are characterized by a serious, open expression that seems to make them more adaptable to imaginative play than if they were forever smiling.

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