LENCI ART, THE ROMBERG COLLECTION Sunday, MARCH 26, 2023

The Italian firm of Lenci, whose roots began just after WWI when family misfortune and youthful curiosity prompted 15 year old Elena di Scavini to run away and join the circus, and later travel to other parts of Europe away from her roots in Turin, Italy, melding into the intellectual and artistic communities she found wherever she traveled. Her life inspired her art. And the creation of the hand-painted modeled felt dolls she designed reflected not only her early life – the circus, the theatre, the sense of the absurd -but also told a story of those remarkable times.

“Collectors who are only familiar with the Lenci dolls of the mid/late 1930s are missing a whole part of the story”, says the collector Elaine Romberg, “and while I love those later and colorful dolls, too, I am fascinated with the history of the earlier Lenci dolls”.

The Romberg Collection of “Lenci Art” presents 160 dolls and ephemera from the 1920-1940 era, with historical background about the pieces. The collection remarkably includes 160 pieces from the premiere Lenci ad of 1920, as well as important and very rare celebrity dolls including Valentino as The Sheik, Josephine Baker in her famous banana costume, and Bombita of bullfighting fame. The complete story of the outstanding series of Asian dolls created by Elena di Scavini in the mid-1920s remains a mystery, although their grand exhibition size and astounding detail is clear evidence of special commission. Few are known to exist.

Lovers of Lenci fashionable girls and boys will find favor in this auction, too. Vibrant colors with appropriate accessories create enhancing ensembles that echo the styles of the years they were made. Even accessories, such as hand-painted jewelry or pipes, were carefully created to enhance the looks.

The collection contains 160 wonderful and rare examples of these treasured dolls. Collectors are invited to attend the auction in person at Theriault’s new gallery at 2148 Renard Court in Annapolis, MD 21401 or can bid absentee, live by telephone or live on the internet. A live video/ audio of the auction is also aired. A full color catalog is available for $69. Note: If you order a 10-Issue Subscription before March 25th, you will receive both catalogs counting towards one catalog.

For more information or to order or subscribe to the auction catalogs call 410-224-3655 or visit www.theriaults.com. x