Floria by Anili

Floria by Anili is shown in her original box with the box top removed.

When an opportunity to purchase a doll presents itself that is too good (in your mind) to refuse, you do what your mind tells you to do... buy it!  That is exactly what I did when I saw Floria, who was included with a group of other dolls being offered for sale by a fellow doll connoisseur.  When I asked for additional details about the doll (whose name and maker I did not know at the time, but the doll looked like a Lenci to me), the former owner readily replied:

Debbie, this is Floria by Anili. She is 17.5 inches and is felt. She was an exclusive doll made for Loretta Barrett’s Under The Lilac Store, a local (Laurel, Maryland) doll store which is no longer in business. This one is #2/10.

The seller's drastically-reduced price and Floria's original price were shared and the purchase was finalized.  Floria arrived approximately a week later after having been delivered to my neighbor across the street by mistake.  Thank God for honest neighbors.

Floria's first close-up photo was taken while still in the box.

Floria has a pressed-felt face with dark brown side-glancing painted eyes.  Her hair is a black curly Afro-type wig.

This is Floria's first out-of-the-box photo.

With her head slightly turned, another close-up of Floria was taken out of the box.

Brown cloth was used for the body which is marked 2/10/86 on back, which must translate to mean she is #2 of 10, made in 1986. Her arms and legs are made of felt.

She wears a yellow felt hat that is embellished with multiple colors of felt flowers.  It has a bright pink hat band and is tied in the back with bright pink ties. Her long-sleeved felt dress is royal blue with diagonal bright pink stripes that form a diamond shape.

From the back, Floria's pink scarf and pink hat ties can be seen along with her round paper Anili tag which is sewn to the back of her dress.

A pink silk scarf, white pantaloons, and black felt slippers, which are piped in hot pink, complete her fashion.

Floria's black felt shoes are illustrated here.  Her white pantaloons are also visible.

Floria's basket of flowers is shown from a side angle.

With her right index finger, Floria holds the handle of a natural colored basket in which are multiple felt flowers.

In this different angle, her index finger can be seen which is curved around the basket handle.

Anili paper tag

As indicated and illustrated more closely above, a circular Anili paper tag is sewn to the back of her dress.

Under the Lilac business card

The business card of Under the Lilac (doll shop) is pinned to the front side of  Floria's dress.
Handwritten on the business card is Floria Black #2/10 Exclusive for UTL (Under the Lilac).

According to Doll Reference (an online doll reference site), Anili Dolls were made from 1948-1986.  Therefore, Floria might be one of the company's last brown-skinned dolls.  The site further states:

The Anili Doll Company of Italy, was founded by Anili Scavini the daughter of Elena Scavini (founder of Lenci). 

Anili made Lenci like sculpted cloth dolls and also dolls made of celluloid. Operations ceased in 1986.

Some Anili dolls are marked with a circular paper tag, one was a heart symbol with Anili, Italy inside and they probably used other tags over the years, as well.

After Floria arrived, I shared with the former owner how pleased I am with her and, because of her pristine condition, I asked if she had ever displayed her.  Her answer was, "Yes, I did but not since around 2006 probably. I’m glad you like her!"

Felt dolls are not plentiful in my collection.  I will gather them soon and feature all in a separate blog post.

Doll Reference, Anili Dolls

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Black Dolls From Around the World - Italy

Italy-based doll manufacturers past and/or present include Furga, Lenci, Sebino, and Zanini and Zambelli.  All, except Lenci, mainly produced dolls for the play market, but even those are considered collectible.

Furga – Appena Nati, which means newborn, is a 16-inch all vinyl, anatomically correct boy with black rooted hair, black stationary eyes; wears a disposable Pampers (that I probably added); came with red and white stripe cloth diaper, certificate, ID bracelet, gauze and tape for umbilical cord; made in the 1980s.

Furga – Florence is a 30-inch vinyl doll with cloth body. She has been redressed. Her original multicolored tunic, pink leggings, and white vinyl shoes with painted pink ribbon design are stored away.

Florence has brown stationary eyes and mounds of black rooted hair, which I prefer in an upswept style.

Lenci – Naomi is a 19-inch felt doll made in 1994. She has a dark brown wig and painted eyes. Naomi wears her original clothing.

Sebino – Cicciobello, Angelo Negro (Black Angel), is a 19-inch, vinyl with cloth body boy with black rooted hair, brown stationary eyes. He has a plastic ID medallion that bears his name; made in 1979.  I love his luscious lips! View a Cicciobello doll commerical here.

Zaninni and Zambelli – Patrick and Julia are 21 inches, made of vinyl with cloth bodies. They have black rooted hair, black sleep eyes; made in 1986.

Zaninni and Zambelli – 25-inch vinyl doll with cloth body, has same attributes (other than size) as the two smaller Z&Z dolls in the previous image.

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My Little Eagle Will Soon Soar (or be in flight)

Faith and Miracle, Native Australian Dolls by Wendy Frank 

After Faith and Miracle arrived last month, I immediately craved a little brother for them.  They wanted one,  too.  I asked their talented artist, Wendy Frank, to make a boy according to my specifications.  She did.  Approximately three weeks ago, Wendy emailed an image of my little boy's completed head to me.  It met with my approval.

This past Friday, she emailed images of the completed doll.  After making a few minor changes that I requested, I am thrilled (Faith and Miracle are, too) that my little redheaded boy, Faith and Miracle's little brother, will soon travel from Australia to the US to unite with me, the girls, and the other inanimate three-dimensional, nonbreathers in the collection. 






By the way, Wendy named my little boy, Mullyan, which means eagle.  I will call him Yanni, which is Hebrew for "God is gracious" or "the Lord is gracious."  Yanni is approximately 16-1/2 inches (42 cm) tall.  His sisters stand 17 inches (43 cm).

Read about how Faith and Miracle found me here.

Learn more about the artist and her delightful Lenci/ Kathe Kruse-style, one-of-a-kind dolls here.

dbg (Faith, Miracle, and Yanni's mom)