Toy figure
Cherilea Toys Ltd.
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
Plastic
Measurements
Each figure (min) - 75 mm (height), Each Zulu (max) - 85 mm (height)
Place of origin
Great Britain
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 669524
Summary
Three black plastic models representing Zulus on green plastic stands. All have painted yellow front and back aprons with brown tied belts. All have moulded and painted hair and facial features. One has a brown necklace and is holding a club in one hand and a white topped black whip in the other. The second one has a blue and gold kettle drum on black straps around its neck and a white tipped drum stick in each hand. The third, which wears a white feathered headband, has a long black spear in its left hand and a red and yellow flaming torch in the other. Total number of items is 3. Toy soldiers have been popular since at least the 18th century. From the late 19th Century toy soldiers were mass-produced, first in lead and later in plastic, which replicated famous conflicts, including the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) fought between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom in what is now South Africa. The war, and in particular the British victory at the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, was depicted in military paintings, published accounts and later in film. The representation of Zulu people in these toys is influenced by these popular depictions and perpetuates a stereotype of them as aggressive antagonists.
Marks and inscriptions
On the base of each model: 'MADE IN GT. BRITAIN/ CHERILEA TOYS./ LTD'
Makers and roles
Cherilea Toys Ltd., maker