Costume doll
Category
Dolls
Date
circa 1950 - circa 1976
Materials
Plastic doll
Measurements
300 mm (height)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 658922
Summary
A mid-20th century plastic national costume doll (also known as souvenir, world costume, tourist and foreign travel dolls), representing a female, possibly from Hesse, Germany, with closing eyes and moulded and painted facial features and brown artificial hair. The doll wears a red cap, a black ribbon round her neck, a red and black blouse with a white looped edging, a back green and gold striped sash, a black satin skirt, three black felt underskirts with red edging, white frilly knickers, and white plastic sandals. Costume dolls representing people of different nationalities in their local dress have been made since the mid-19th century. As global travel expanded ‘world’ dolls were produced as tourist souvenirs as well as children’s toys. They appear in a variety of media, from paper to porcelain, polymer to plastic. Produced to be instantly recognisable and collectible, ‘world’ dolls can portray a stereotypical view of peoples and cultural identities.
Provenance
One doll from a collection of costume dolls donated by Mr R.T. Macfarlane in 1976.