When is a toy not a toy?

We might think that it is easy to identify a toy but an object can transcend its definition as a toy depending on who is interacting with it, where they are interacting with it and how and why they are interacting with it. When a toy transforms into a collectible owned by an adult, it becomes a symbol of nostalgia, cultural significance, and potentially acquires monetary value. But is it still a toy? The MARTA collection includes a domino; 19th and 20th century kids often played with dominoes and dice. But they were also integral to alcohol-fuelled gambling games played in taverns of the time. Are they toys or not? The collection also includes porcelain dolls;characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish, these porcelain dolls were created to look like fashionable ladies of the time period and had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900. Even earlier, dolls called pandoras or fashion dolls were used instead of mannequins to display fashions of the time. Although 21st century dolls are less frequently made from porcelain, many families have dolls passed down through generations. These heirlooms have sentimental attachment and hold cherished memories of past childhoods but are they still toys? Sometimes it is difficult for archaeologists to determine if an object was a toy or not. Context can be really important for figuring this out. The small lion statue might have been just an ornament but because archaeologists found it with a doll’s head, a marble, and a toy teacup, it seems probable that the lion was also a toy.