Doll
Category
Dolls
Date
Unknown
Materials
Composition, Textile, Wood
Measurements
240 mm (H)
Order this imageCollection
Penrhyn Castle, Gwynedd
NT 278031
Summary
Composition head doll representing an older Native American woman wrapped in a blanket, painted and lined features, black hair, wooden feet. A bundle of sticks which the doll is 'carrying' is attached to one shoulder (the doll has no arms, with the top half being entirely covered by the blanket). This is an example of the so-called 'Skookum' doll, a type of tourist or souvenir doll manufactured and distributed on the east coast of the United States of America by the Arrow Novelty company, New York. The dolls were designed by Mary Dwyer McAboy (1876-1961) after 'apple-head' dolls she carved and played with as a child. They portray Native American peoples in stylised, stereotypical ways.