POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Composition doll

Object No. 99/4/18

Doll, composition/ felt/ cotton, maker unknown, [Australia/ U.S.A/ Europe] 1930-1950

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Summary

Physical Description

Doll made with a composition head and felt body. The head is coloured dark brown with the finish now crazed. The head is inserted into the body of the doll. A black colouring on top of the head suggests short black hair. The body is firmly stuffed. The arms and legs are sewn on to the body. The eyes are painted on and are side-ways looking. The lips are bright red. The arms and legs are simply stylised from brown felt. Yellow felt at the end of the legs form the shoes. The doll is clothed with a blue and white spotted handkerchief around the its neck, a red, blue, white checked short-sleeved shirt, blue-green wool shorts with brown felt button-on braces. There is a white patch stitched on with red thread on the front of the right leg and another on the back of the left leg of the shorts.

DIMENSIONS

Height

420 mm

Width

250 mm

Depth

75 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

There are no visible marker's marks on this doll. Dolls of this sort were made in Europe and the United States from the 19th century. In Australia, the Trio Doll Company and the Sterne Doll Company made 'negro' dolls from the 1930s and 1940s.

HISTORY

Notes

Donated by the National Trust's Museum of Australian Childhood by the Thyne Reid Foundation.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of the National Trust of Australia, NSW, 1999

Acquisition Date

12 January 1999

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