Mother Doll With Baby

Title	Mother Doll With Baby
Subject	Handmade, West African, African mother doll, stuffed nylon doll
Description	Handmade doll made from dark brown nylon stuffed with unknown material. Hand-stitched eyes, eyebrows, and mouth with black thread. Multicolored, floral-patterned spandex cloth headwrap, white spandex dress with small purple, tan, dark brown, and yellow geometric accents. Golden corduroy waist wrap, stitched together with white thread. white cotton cloth underwear and wrap, holding small featureless baby on back of mother doll. Baby also made of the same dark nylon as mother doll, matching floral headwrap. Mother doll holds a small blue corduroy satchel, with cream-colored cloth handle with sage green accents.
Creator	Unknown
Date	Post 1950s, possibly early 1960s
Contributor	Melissa Ladd, Gift of Chris Seidman
Format	Mother doll 6.5" tall, ~2.5" wide elbow to elbow Baby doll 1" tall, 1/2" wide
Format	image/jpeg
Type	Still image
Abstract	This is a handmade doll, created with materials appearing to be mid-20th century, possibly the 1950s or 1960s. She has a clear connection to West African culture. The maker of the doll was familiar with the style of dress that women in West Africa wore and still wear today. This mamma doll is especially sweet with a small baby in a matching headscarf tucked against her back. Carrying a baby on one’s back, secured with a pagne (a length of hemmed cloth wrapped around the body) that matches the mother’s skirt is a common Pan African practice throughout history and today. She carries a small handmade bag that reflects the handmade bags used by women to carry market goods home or by schoolchildren to carry books. It is unknown whether the doll was made in West Africa, or if it was a doll made in representation of that region.
Identifier	https://digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/student/items/show/13156

Mother Doll With Baby

Citation