Vintage Female Doll in Ceremonial Dress, Acrylic Stand, China (1301D-EAO) $195
$195.00
H: 10.5″ W: 3.5″ D: 3.125″ | FREE SHIPPING
Originally mounted on the wood stick now inserted into its acrylic stand, this vintage, stately, elegantly dressed female folk-art doll is an opera dancer in ceremonial dress holding her elongated finely defined hands in front of her chest. Her wood head is beautifully painted and her black hair is intricately coiffed in a bun and ponytail down her back and adorned with two upward standing ovals decorated with sequins, cloth and plastic florals. She wears a long flowing beige dress with a contrasting yellow jacket, belt and sash hanging down to the base with five pedaled green flower plum blossoms, inset sequins, highlighted and outlined with silver thread and bright red shoes.
Description
This doll is a Chinese nuo opera dancer whose costume decorated with 5-petal plum blossoms symbolizing longevity and, with its 5 petals, a wish for the Five Blessings or Happinesses. 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 holiday attire people would see at holiday occasions, Chinese Nuo opera, Chinese dance, puppet presentations, and other public events. When dolls were soiled from use, their clothing was cleaned or replaced. Children were also taught visual puns and tonal puns called homophones – similar sounding auspicious words with very different meanings related to the dolls which is a major component of their humor. The four dancer dolls we offer are charming as a collection and they are all on frosted Acrylic bases.
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.
Additional information
| Dimensions | 12 × 9 × 6 in |
|---|---|
| Place of Origin | China |
| Period | Vintage (1920-1980) |
| Date | 1920-1980 |
| Materials and Technique | Wood |
| Dimensions (inches) | Ht: 10.5” W: 3.5” D: 3.125” |
| Dimensions (metric) | Ht: 26.67cm W: 8.89cm D: 7.93cm |
| Weight | 8.4oz |
| Condition | Excellent, age appropriate signs of wear |
| Item Number | 1301D-EAO |
| Shipping Box Size |
