Hand puppet

Founded in 1919 in Turin, Italy, by Enrico and Elena Konig Scavini, the Lenci company manufactured high-quality dolls of pressed felt with oil-painted faces and elaborately decorated outfits. At first the company made boudoir dolls, character dolls, and dolls representing children. The children often sport enchanting faces of pensive or pouty expressions, looks of surprise or astonishment, or the side-glancing gaze of a sly coquette. Never inexpensive, few Lenci dolls sold as play dolls. They appealed to adults, perhaps, more than to children.