Sasha girl doll – £1000 at Mitchells.
A late 1960s girl doll with no philtrum (upper lip indentation), blonde hair, painted blue eyes and wearing a brown dress sold for £1000 against an estimate of £400-600 at Cockermouth auction house Mitchells (20% buyer’s premium) on August 4.
Another Sasha doll, a Gregor with rooted red hair, painted facial features and wearing denim dungarees, was more of a surprise, sailing past its £80-120 estimate to take £820.
Sasha Gregor doll – £820 at Mitchells.
They were created by Sasha Morgenthaler (1893-1975), a Swiss artist, protégé of Paul Klee and contemporary of Karl Geiser. She married the painter Ernst Morgenthaler.
In the mid-1960s she had created 16in (42cm) high play dolls which were manufactured in Germany from 1965-70 and 1995-2001, and England from 1966-86 (for more details see sashadoll.com).
Mitchells auctioneer and toy specialist Ewan Duff said: “The top-selling Sasha doll was a real talking point during the viewing because of her unusual complexion and dark eyelashes, which is one of the reasons why she sold for £1000.”
Two Sasha dolls sold as one lot at Adam Partridge’s December 2018 auction in Macclesfield for £3400 against an estimate of £80-120 (see ATG No 2325).
Last December another Sasha Gregor took £1150 at Stride & Son of Chichester (guide £80-120). A vintage redhead girl doll, wearing original grey dungarees and white shirt, realised £1400 against an estimate of £50-80.
