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DOLL

Look up doll in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A doll is a usually small (though, can be any size) toy for children, often having the likeness of a human and more often that not - a baby. But as well as human, dolls can be of an animal, or even of a fictional creature (eg. troll, or a smurf). Dolls can be made out of almost any material, but both cloth and plastic are popular in doll-making.

Contents

Use

Dolls are often intended as toys for children but other uses of dolls include as a keepsake or collectible item for any age, namely older children to adults. However, dolls are also used because of their cultural significance, possibly for use in a ceremony or ritual, or even as a physical representation of a deity, these uses of course go along with a simpler, a doll is another way for decoration. As time has gone on, it's become more important for dolls to be as lifelike as possible, and these dolls can be used for professional use, (see anatomically correct doll), or as sex toys (see sex doll).

History

Dolls have been around for far longer than most would think, archaeological evidence placing dolls as foremost candidate for oldest known toy, having been found in Egyptian tombs which date to as early as 2000 BC. In Egypt, as well as Greece and Rome, it was common to find them in the graves of children, these were mainly made from wood, however, among the wealthier families, pottery dolls were also found.

Many suggest that dolls were around even before 2000 BC, going further back to prehistoric times, and were probably made from materials such as clay, mud, fur, wood, etc.

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Composition

Dolls are typically made of the following materials.

A large model made of a hard material is called a statue. A doll or animal model of soft material is also called a plush toy or plushie.

Famous types of dolls

Toy Dolls

Pinocchio dolls in diverse stages of construction in a shop window in Firenze, Italy.
Pinocchio dolls in diverse stages of construction in a shop window in Firenze, Italy.

Other dolls

Action figures

Dolls are distinguished from action figures, which are generally of plastic or semi metallic construction and poseable to some extent, and exist largely for the purpose of marketing the television shows or films which feature the characters they are often modeled after. Modern action figures, such as Action Man, are often marketed towards boys, and dolls towards girls.


Events related to dolls

Festivals