Porcelain dolls from Neudachiny estate in Tobolsk

The object of this research is the finds of porcelain dolls discovered by L. N. Sladkova in 1998 during the excavations of Neudachiny estate in Tobolsk. The goal lies in studying two pieces of porcelain dolls, which most likely were imported and symbolize material wealth for the majority of Tobolsk resident in the late XIX – early XX centuries. Having explored the items from other collections of the Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, the author attempts to determine the prevalence of such porcelain dolls in Tobolsk in the late XIX – XX centuries, and which social classes could afford them. The relevance of this work is substantiated by the absence of publications dedicated to archaeological finds of the imported porcelain dolls in the territory of Western Siberia, as well as Russian-language literature on attribution and study of this category of toys of the XI – early XX century. The author carries out the attribution of porcelain dolls found on the territory of the Neudachiny estate, and concludes that such finds are imported and manufactured in the late XIX – early XX centuries. The preserved hallmark allowed establishing that one of the dolls was manufactured in Germany at Armand Marseill factory. In correlation of the income of different categories of residents with the cost of porcelain dolls, the author indicates that not all segments of urban population could afford such porcelain dolls. The items may also contain information on commercial ties, as well as peculiarities of the childhood of Tobolsk residents of that time.