China Dolls:

China is a ceramic material that has been glazed to produce a glossy finish. The production of china, familiar to Asians for hundreds of years, was not discovered in Europe until 1709.

While the manufacture of china dolls began around 1750, the technique did not become popular until the 1840s. Still, china dolls exceeded all other early types of dolls in both number and variety. A November 1884 Harper's Bazar article noted that " . . . one German factory has been running about one hundred and thirty years, and has produced about one BILLION china dolls."

In addition to dolls' heads, limbs often were made of china. Many of the china dolls made in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries had sewn-on heads and limbs that were imported from Europe.