Exotic Dolls by S.Mehreen

Shanila

2011-09-29T17:50:00.007-05:00

Ishaani

2011-03-19T23:14:00.002-05:00

March 2011
In the Collection of :
Badie Natacha, France

Ishaan

2010-12-26T12:08:00.001-06:00

December 2010
In the Collection of :
Badie Natacha, France

Maya

2009-10-13T15:16:00.015-05:00

Maya was inspired by her namesake in the movie Kama Sutra. She was the servant with the beauty of a queen ... the beloved of Jai Kumar and the mistress of Raj Singh.

Maya was played by Indira Varma in Kama Sutra

Tara

2009-09-28T18:37:00.000-05:00

Tara, the third doll in the Maharajah's Palace series made for Susan Tay. Her dress is inspired by the pink lehenga-choli worn by her namesake in Kama Sutra (see photo below). This is how Susan describes Tara:

Bride and future Maharani, ethereally beautiful but always thinking she is not quite as pretty as Maya nor as talented a dancer. God is fair, I guess, for all of Tara's insecurity, she is filthy rich as you will be able to see from the palace that I am planning for her.

To read more about Susan's Maharajah's Palace, visit:
http://sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com /
2008/12/my-maharajahs-palace-day-3.html

Tara was played by Sarita Choudhury in Kama Sutra

Raj Singh

2009-09-27T07:54:00.000-05:00

Raj Singh is the second doll in the Maharajah's Palace series made for Susan Tay. This is how Susan describes Raj Singh:

A most handsome prince. He loves Maya but will only marry Tara. A philanderer and a hedonist, he spares no expense to acquire all things pleasing to his senses. The palace, their clothes, the furnishings will all be testaments to his expensive taste and his lavish lifestyle.

To read more about the characters as Susan envisions them, visit:

http://sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com /
2008/12/my-maharajahs-palace-day-3.html

In the movie, Raj Singh is portrayed as an ill-tempered and cruel man, and I was really excited when I was told by friends that the doll has a cruel glint in his eyes!

Raj Singh was played by Naveen Andrews in Kama Sutra

Jai Kumar

2009-09-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

Jai Kumar is the first of four dolls I am making for Susan Tay in Singapore, who is set on creating the most fabulous Maharajah's Palace based on the movie Kama Sutra.

This is how Susan described Jai Kumar...

"With the looks and body of a God, Jai is the palace chief artisan and carver and does all the stone works for the palace. He is the Michaelangelo of the Maharajah's Palace . He is also Maya's lover and everyone's dream man. Even Tara had a crush on him when she was a child with no worldly concerns like marrying into the 'right' family."

To read more about the characters as Susan envisions them, visit:
http://sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com /
2008/12/my-maharajahs-palace-day-3.html

Jai Kumar was played by Ramon Tikaram in Kama Sutra

Urvashi

2009-08-13T15:00:00.000-05:00

Urvashi was inspired by her mythical namesake, the most beautiful Apsara in Indra's court. She is dressed in a traditional Bharatanatyam costume and is decked in jewelry from head to toe. She wears flowers in her hair, and her body is adorned with henna.

To see more of my dolls, please visit:
http://flickr.com/photos/smehreen/sets/72157594487324720

Inspiration Photo

Kumari

2009-08-13T14:59:00.000-05:00

Inspired by the Royal Kumari of Nepal, my Kumari is dressed in her regal garb of red and gold. She wears her hair in a topknot, and has the agni chakchuu or ‘fire eye’ painted on her forehead as a symbol of her special powers of perception. Kumari was made for Helen in Honeychurch, UK.

The Kumari of Nepal

More Photos of My Kumari

Sunehra

2009-07-31T19:04:00.010-05:00

Sunehra and Dev were featured in UK's Dolls House World November '09 Issue #206, and Spain's Miniaturas Issue #143.
http://www.dollshouseworld.com/imag/issue206/pageflip.htm

Keya

2009-06-27T16:38:00.003-05:00

I had been saving the single peacock feather in my bead-box forever, and wanted to make the doll that would hold it in her hands. Keya's dress and ornaments are inspired by the jewel tones picked from the peacock feather, which was later turned into a fan with tiny beads creating the handle. Keya will be leaving for Zambia in July as a gift to a friend ...

Dev

2009-02-14T14:57:00.000-06:00

Dev is so very special to me, since he is the first 1:12 scale male doll I ever made. He is an Indian prince, dressed in white kurta pajama, a sage green sherwani intricately decorated with golden paint, and a pair of nagra shoes from Jaipur.

Dev and Sunehra were featured in UK's Dolls House World November '09 Issue #206, and Spain's Miniaturas Issue #143.
http://www.dollshouseworld.com/imag/issue206/pageflip.htm

Chandra

2009-02-13T14:55:00.002-06:00

My Chandra was inspired by Chandramukhi from the movie Devdas. She is dressed in gold ghagra-choli, and is sparkling from head to toe in traditional Indian jewelry: the tiara, vindi, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets. Her hands and feet are decorated with henna.

Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi

Parvati

2009-02-13T14:48:00.000-06:00

Parvati is dressed in a peacock-blue sari embellished in jewel tones. Her hands and feet are painted in alta, a very traditional adornment used by the women of Bengal. Parvati has been in the private collection of Eileen Gorham, MA since April '08.

For a long time now, I have been looking at the film-still from Devdas and dying to create a doll inspired by Parvati played by the beautiful Aishwarya Rai.

To read the story of Devdas, visit:
http://devdas.indiatimes.com/story.htm

Reshma

2009-02-12T15:05:00.000-06:00

My Reshma: as sensuous and soft as the silk that is her namesake. She picked bangles, necklaces, anklets, earrings and tiara that complement her peach and cream complexion. Her hands, arms and feet are adorned with traditional henna designs. Her bronze curls are arranged in an artfully braided chignon.

Reshma's ensemble was inspired by the peacock-feather that graces the mask she holds. She is dressed in antique gold Indian lehenga-choli: hand-embellished in gold and turquoise paint.

Suhana

2009-02-11T15:02:00.000-06:00

Princess Suhana: as dazzling and regal as the star that is her namesake. She is an incomparable beauty of the Orient, dressed in Indian brocade and exotic jewelry. Her wrapped dress, draped in the style of a sari, is made of a chocolaty plum silken fabric shot with gold: an intricate floral design woven on the achal. Her jewelry is accented in faux turquoise. Her hair is arranged in a braided chignon, but most of her thick shimmery copper curls flow freely about her shoulders.

In Hindi, Suhana means beautiful; in Arabic, it is the name of a star. Princess Suhana will grace a Persian Harem as befittingly as she would an Indian Palace.

I had a wonderful time making this doll, but the journey has been strange to say the least. When I started out, I was quite set on making a blond beauty wearing a Regency styled gown. I had even set aside the goldenrod chiffon fabric for the dress, and made yellow polymer clay roses to make into a bouquet. But when the doll was ready to be adorned, it was almost like she insisted on wearing a different dress: very much like the princess she is! I had been saving this fabric for later, but had to give in. She preferred copper curls to blond that I had in mind for her. And she had to have all the jewelry: even the anklets although they are normally covered up by her long skirt.

Medusa

2009-02-10T15:06:00.000-06:00

I loved Medusa when she was a child,
Her rich brown tresses heaped in crispy curl
Where now those locks with reptile passion whirl,
By hate into dishevelled serpents coiled.
I loved Medusa when her eyes were mild,
Whose glances, narrowed now, perdition hurl,
As her self-tangled hairs their mass unfurl,
Bristling the way she turns with hissings wild.

Her mouth I kissed when curved with amorous spell,
Now shaped to the unuttered curse of hell,
Wide open for death’s orbs to freeze upon;
Her eyes I loved ere glazed in icy stare,
Ere mortals, lured into their ruthless glare,
She shrivelled in her gaze to pulseless stone.

-- Thomas Gordon Hake, The Infant Medusa.

As told by Ovid in Metamorphoses, Medusa was a beautiful young woman whose crowning glory was her magnificent long hair. She was desired and courted by countless suitors. Yet, before she could be betrothed to a husband, Poseidon (Neptune) found her worshipping in the temple of Athena (Minerva) and ravished her. Outraged at her sacred temple being violated, Athena punished Medusa by turning her beautiful tresses into snakes and giving her the destructive power to turn anyone who looked directly at her into stone.

My Medusa holds a stone heart in her palm -- blazing red with the torment that burns within her.

Jahan

2009-02-09T15:08:00.004-06:00

This doll was a wedding gift I made for my aunt. Dressed in salwar-kameez, Jahan is a vision in gold and turquoise. She is adorned in traditional jewelry: bracelets, anklets, necklace, tiara and bindi. Her veil or dupatta is hand-embellished in jewel-toned fabric paint.

Sabah

2009-02-01T15:09:00.000-06:00

Princess Sabah: as beautiful as the glow of the rising sun. Her pearly complexion, dreamy brown eyes and soft pink lips have stolen the sleep of many a prince. Her ebony hair falls unbound to her waist. She is a vision of innocence in her billowy white dress trimmed in gold.