Collection

The House of Anri / Anri Wood Carvings

In the early 1900s, American traveler and author W.D. McCrackan published a remarkably descriptive journal detailing his extensive excursions to the "Fair Land of Tyrol." Needless to say, the Gröden Valley did not escape his attention. He affectionately dubbed this secluded valley "Toyland, where lives a race of mountaineers whom time and trade have transformed into artists and artisans." "The Villages of the Gröden Valley," he said, "send a great supply of toys to various parts of the world. Some of the largest houses in the villages are used to store these local products. Upon entering, you find long shelves of playthings in packages, vast rooms lines with these shelves; whole floors teeming with jointed dolls. These figures, wearing Tyrolese costumes, show a considerable advance in artistic treatment over mere toys."

One can only wonder is McCracken saw the work of Luis Riffeser, a master woodcarver whose son, Anton, founded the House of Anri. Luis Riffeser was well known in the valley for his pioneering work with movable toys and puppets—and hiring other carvers to reproduce his unique designs. But whether the American traveler saw Luis Riffeser's work or not, his prediction that the tradition of hand-carved dolls would continue for generations has certainly been fulfilled at the House of Anri.

What is different today, a fact that the turn-of-the-century traveler could not have guessed, are the artists whose works now inspire the creation of a doll at the House of Anri. Anri carvers and painters have turned their skills to transforming the work of world-renowned artists into hand-carved, hand-painted dolls. The adorable children of Australian artist Sarah Kay, the inspirational work of Spanish artist and poet Juan Ferrándiz , the internationally loved characters of Walt Disney, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, have all been skillfully hand-carved into limited edition Anri dolls. These hand-carved dolls are now found in prized collections around the world.

As with every Anri woodcarving, each Anri doll is hand-carved from 100 year old Alpine maple and hand-painted with delicate, translucent oils that allow the natural beauty of the wood to shine through. Each doll in the Anri Collection is fully articulated and each dons a fine, hand-sewn costume, often the traditional dress of the Tyrol. Each is a sequentially numbered, limited edition doll that comes with a hand-numbered certificate of Anri authenticity and the world-famous seal of the House of Anri.

This combination of new and old—the work of modern artists carefully blended with a woodcarving tradition that goes back more than 300 years—has made Anri dolls, in collectors' terms, truly museum quality creations. Because of Anri's dolls, the Gröden Valley can still be affectionately called a Toyland, now and for many generations to come.