Flirty eyes

 This is an antique German doll that has what are called 'flirty eyes'. They move side to side and they also sleep.

Flirty eyes like this 'sleep' by having metal eyelids move over the eyes when the doll lies down.

But, this doll's eyes do not work well.

Her inside mechanism.

It is hard to see but there are two weighted mechanisms in there. One moves the eyes from side to side and one moves the metal eyelids over the eyes to make the doll 'sleep'.

What was missing from this mechanism was a string that suspends the upper weight which makes they eyes move side to side. The string is secured at the front of the head by a little blob of plaster.

In this case the string had broken so replacing it made the mechanisms work properly again.

She has a couple other issues to address. A hand missing some fingers and a caved in belly button with a previous repair.

All fingers are intact now and she has had her torso patched and her hair curled.