Doll-A-Day 2019 #167: Lotte Sievers Hahn Ladies

  Today's dolls are two I got on Mother's Day, when Emma and I went antique shopping. They're these ladies.

They're so cute! They're dolls by Lotte Seivers Hahn.

They're about 8 inches tall.

Lotte Seivers Hahn was from northern Germany. She trained to be a toymaker,and started her own company in 1929. Originally she carved all of the figures herself,and specialized in nativity scenes. The company is still a family business,and is still known mainly for their nativity scenes.


All of her figures are hand carved from limewood,a popular wood for carvers in the Renaissance era.

The legs are jointed where they meet the body, so the girls can sit down.

Unlike the smaller dolls, these girls' legs have a shape to them,more like real legs.

The arms are simple,with mitten hands.

The arms are connected at the shoulders by a strip of leather. they can move up and down,but can't hold a pose.

The face is simple, with features more suggested than detailed.

Lotte's style of carving was to use only a few quick strokes of the knife. She taught her employees to use her methods,and the dolls made today seem to still be made this way.

Their very simple faces are hand painted with oil paints.

The company still hand carves all their figures from limewood,and paints them with oil paints, just like Lotte herself did. They don't seem to make them with moveable limbs anymore though.

As the old pantyhose commercial used to say, "Nobody knows, until the wind blows." These girls are wearing what amount to boxer shorts.

They are wearing regional costumes from Germany I am guessing.

Maybe some of our readers from that area, or the surrounding countries,can tell us something about this lady's hat. Helga?

Both dolls have long braids.

She has a nail in her back! I'm guessing that,like the Baitz dolls,her clothes are nail on with tiny nails,or pins.

I have a group of smaller Lotte Seivers Hahn dolls. I got them online several years ago. You can see my post on them HERE.

 You can visit the Lotte Sievers Hahn company website HERE.

  Those have been today's dolls. See you tomorrow for another one.