Wax Dolls:

The early Greeks introduced the use of wax for making dolls. Wax-head dolls were made commercially in Germany as early as the 17th century (1600s).

Two methods have been used to produce wax-head dolls. In the earliest, melted wax was poured into a mold. Because dolls made by this method were made entirely of wax, they did not hold up well and, thus, few have survived.

The later method, which became popular about 1850, entailed dipping heads made of other materials into wax. The wax coating enabled makers to add more detail to facial features. The earliest of the dipped wax heads were painted before being dipped. Later dolls had paint applied directly to the wax.

Wax dolls were especially popular from the 1870s through the late 1890s. Most wax dolls were made in Germany and England.