Vintage Female Doll in Ceremonial Dress, China (1301C-EAO) $195

Description

This doll is a Chinese opera dancer whose costume decorated with 5-petal plum blossom on the sash symbolizing longevity and, with its 5 petals, a wish for the Five Blessings or Happinesses. Her elaborate hair is a focal point along with the flower he holds. In many cultures, dolls were children’s entertainment and didactic tools to teach beliefs, philosophy, lore, and history specific to each culture. In China dolls were a folk-art tradition for rural and city residents that communicated and explained cultural symbols, customs, folktales, rituals, holiday celebrations, and family events and milestones to a generally illiterate population that required visual education. Small, charming, and attractively dressed vintage Chinese dolls were decorated to the extent funds were available to echo attire people would see at holiday occasions, Chinese opera, Chinese dance, puppet presentations, and other public events. When dolls were soiled from use, their clothing was cleaned or replaced. The four opera dancer dolls we offer are charming as a collection, and are all mounted on a modern uniquely crafted hand finished frosted Acrylic base.

Sources

Nancy Zeng Berliner, Chinese Folk Art, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1986.

Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art,, San Francisco, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006.

Patricia Bjaaland Welch, Chinese Art; A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery, Rutland, Tuttle Publishing, 2008.