Maurice L'Claire's Magnificent Mimes

Posted on May ?th, 2025...

Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the comedy of mimes - those silent, sometimes silly performers whose overacted antics made me laugh... and still do. They have, I learned, been entertaining audiences for centuries! Harlequins and court jesters amused royalty as far back as the Middle Ages. In creating this contemporary doll, my goal was to honor its mirthful theatrical heritage and preserve its joyful spirit. The face, hands and feet are genuine porcelain bisque, handpainted one careful brushtroke at a time. The costume is sewn, stitch by stich, as skillfully as any full-size garment. My hope is that it will find a place in your heart and bring a smile to your lips.

Sincerely,

Maurice L'Claire

As far as ceramic dolls go, ceramic clown/harlequin/mime dolls are infinitely harder to find information on. (Yes, I checked my library! The librarian thought I was a weirdo!) My introduction to these was inside a Goodwill Outlet in the southern United States. There's not much to wax poetic about, to be honest, but I picked out a few for myself and took on my usual self-imposed challenge of finding information. TL;DR - I instead found information on the Magnificent Mimes, and here we are. :]

Each of the following dolls has their own name (with a few doubles) and appearance, and typically are 16 inches in height. They have poseable wire bodies, beautiful detailing and exceptionally fragile bisque parts. As always, if I find more in the future it will be added here.

Alison/Sasha

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Cassandra

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Cassie

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Daphne

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Electra

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Francoise

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Gaye

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Genevieve

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Quin

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Sadie

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Unknown

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