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Walesdirectory.co.uk are privileged to offer
for sale these quality Welsh Lady Dolls.
Carys the flower seller from Swansea Market
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"The dolls are hand made here in Wales by Brenda Price of Powys, Mid Wales,
and make the perfect Welsh gift.
The Ladies of Wales" ("Merched Cymru") have been created as a result of
her long fascination with all aspects of costume, and her research into
the dress of everyday folk in the Wales of times gone by. Although there
does not seem to have been a definitive "Welsh" costume, or for that matter
a "national" dress, many aspects of what has come to be regarded as such
are evident in the outfits we portray here and on the linked pages.
Brenda is indebted to Lady Llanover for her delicate watercolours, painted
in the early 19th century, and also to the anonymous photographers of later
decades for their assiduous recording of various aspects of the local scene.
Some of the dolls wear the famous tall 'Welsh Hat', but we also include
versions with a wider brim or a squat crown. Other variations include the
milkmaid's straw hat and the black felt 'cockle bonnet', essential for the
short but intensely lovely summers we have always enjoyed here in Wales.
At present there are six dolls in the Ladies of Wales range. Standing
14" high, they all feature Brenda's own individually made head sculptures,
reproduced in porcelain in her studio in the heart of Powys, mid-Wales.
Brenda also designs and makes all the costumes, whilst the scaled-down replica
accessories are handmade for the individual doll by her husband, Roger.
All dolls are numbered and a signed certificate
of authenticity accompanies each creation. |
