The Lenci company was begun by a young woman called Elena Konig Scavini in 1919. Born in 1886, Scavini ran away from home at 14 with her sister to join the circus. She married in her late 20’s and lost her first baby. When she was grieving, she decided to start making dolls and incorporated the Lenci company.
The company made felt dolls with manufactured and processed felt faces or oil-painted faces. It also made porcelain dolls. The dolls were very expensive. The tall, beautifully crafted dolls started to attract a lot of attention in the nineteen-twenties. Scavini exhibited her dolls in Paris, where she made friends with Josephine Baker, who admired the dolls. Queen Elena of Savoy was her most prestigious admirer. She visited one of Scavini’s Italian exhibitions.
Famous Lenci Dolls
The Lenci company began to make dolls based on famous characters. These included Josephine Baker and the French music-hall star,Mistinguett. The Lenci doll of Josephine Baker is baby-faced and wears her famous ‘banana skirt’. The Mistinguett doll was made from a special mould and was quite life-like. Lenci made a portrait doll in memory of Rudolf Valentino, which was dressed in a costume from his last movie, Son of the Sheik.
During 1923-1927 the Lenci company made a series of Oriental dolls. The first of these was the “Fumatore d'oppio" doll which was made in 1923. The Japanese were so impressed with the series that they invited Scavini to transfer her company to Japan. She refused and remained in Turin in spite of Italy’s problems with Fascism.
The Lenci dolls often came in Gigi Chessa boxes. These were decorated with trees, houses, and landscapes on a white background. Gigi Chessa was just one of the many artists and sculptors who collaborated with the company. They also included Marcello Dudovich and Mario Sturani.
Decline of the Lenci Company
Although the Lenci company employed over 600 workers in the nineteen-thirties, it was also heavily in debt. Scavini decided to sell, although she remained as artistic director until 1940. The new owners were called Ars Lenci. The artistry and craftsmanship of their dolls was not as good as the original Lenci company, perhaps because many of Lenci’s artists had left to form their own workshops.
The company continued to make felt and porcelain dolls. It also put costumes on the old, undressed dolls left in stock. It put these into bare boxes with the name, ‘Lenci’, on them, instead of the beautiful boxes by Gigi Chessa. The new company continued to make character dolls. One series was the Disney series of characters made in the fifties, which included ‘Mickey Mouse’ and other famous Disney characters.
The company finally closed its doors in 2002. Lenci dolls are highly prized by collectors. They especially like the original antique Lenci dolls. They are very expensive. Prices start at around $750.
Sources
- eBay Guides - Buying a Lenci Doll
- The Lenci Doll Collector
- A Brief History of the Italian Lenci Doll Company
Lisa Sanderson - Lisa has been a freelance-writer for many years. She used to write for the topic, British Social History, for Suite 101 under the ...
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