Costume doll
Category
Dolls
Date
circa 1950 - circa 1976
Materials
Composition headed doll
Measurements
127 mm (height)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 658923
Summary
A small mid-20th century national costume doll (also known as souvenir, world costume, tourist and foreign travel dolls) representing a woman from Greece, with composition head and legs and stuffed body and arms, moulded and painted facial features and black wool hair. The doll wears a white fabric blouse with lace edged cuffs and red ribbons round the upper arms. The outer garment consists of a red felt bodice sewn to an apron at the front and a knitted gathered bustle-like back. She has black wool socks and brown leather moccasins. 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.