18th Century Doll Receives Beauty Treatments

This ‘fashion doll’ would have been owned by a wealthy woman and was not a child's toy. Nonetheless the c.1740 doll's painted surface suffered a lot of damage over time. The paint was actively flaking under the eye, on the chin, and in various areas on the body. Tiny paint flakes, less than 2mm in diameter, were painstakingly re-attached using fine watchmaker’s tweezers and conservation adhesive.

Some paint flakes could not be re-attached. They will be saved, kept with the records, and may be useful in the future, for analysis of the materials.

The Bowes Museum's Blog covers all stages of the conservation of this doll in a series of posts.