A friend dear friend of mine, who is in her mid 80's and a part of our ladies wine group, recently gave me a couple vintage dolls. One is a little 6 in tall French or German girl and the other is German or French marotte. The music box in the marotte does not appear to be original and it is also not functional so I am searching for a replacement and then would like to put it back together. The head is an Armand Marseille. There is very little information on the internet about marottes. There are lots of images for them however. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term- a marotte " is a prop stick or sceptre with a carved head on it. The word is borrowed from the French, where it signifies either a fool's (literal) "bauble", or a fad/craze.Typically carried by a jester or harlequin, the miniature head will often reflect the costume of the jester who carries it. Modern marottes typically have music boxes or other machinery built into the head. Older marottes may utilize swivel heads with bells." I've been having fun researching these dolls and hope to learn more about them. I'll post an update on the marotte once I get it back together.
Side view of head
Head with no markings
Hat and Dress Outfit
Music box and stick; note that tines on music workings are broken.
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