Intriguing Infants

Loading

Member Jenell Howell shared these two beautiful babies she recently acquired. Entirely of leather, with swivel necks and beautifully painted faces, these dolls are each 16 inches high. Their ethnic outfits are original. She had no information regarding where or when they were made.

One clue to their origins may be the metal amulets in the form of a stylized hand each wears.

Known as the hamsa, this symbol is found widely throughout the Middle East and North Africa, where is appears in jewelry, wall hangings, and other decorative motifs. Tracing its origins back to ancient Mesopotamia, the amulet is thought to bring protection and luck, as well as to deflect the evil eye.

Another clue may be that the nation of Morocco has long been renown for its fine leather crafts, including dolls. Using a special process she developed in 1921, Gertrude Arnall founded the Arnall's Moroccan Craftsmen of Tangier, producing handmade leather dolls representing everyday citizens of that country. It is said that these are the first commercial dolls produced in Morocco. Doll-making was considered a breach of Islamic law, which prohibited the making of images, but Arnall convinced Moroccan authorities that the dolls were not idolatrous and would be generic characters, not portraits of any specific individual. The dolls were sold to tourists and exported through the 1940s. They may have been sold through Kimport Dolls as well. Although most of the labeled Arnall dolls represent adult men and women and range between 8 to 10 inches in height, like these babies, they are finely crafted entirely out of leather, with detailed costumes, expressive faces, and large solemn painted brown eyes. Perhaps these charming children were a special order by Arnall's atelier or another Moroccan leather craftsman was inspired by the success of Arnall's enterprise.

Until an example is found with its original label or other identification, it is a solid educated guess that these darling dolls are from the Middle East or North Africa, most likely Morocco, and were made somewhere between the 1920s through the 1940s.

Black History Month

The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by African-Americans, sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926. Schools, churches, and communities would organize local celebrations and lectures. Cities began issuing proclamations recognizing Negro History Week and by the 1970s college campuses began designating February as Black History month. In 1976, as part of America's bicentennial, President Gerald Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month. Black dolls are an important part of doll history, so in commemoration of Black History Month, our club will be sharing examples of Black dolls. This 7 inch tall wax doll of an African-American woman selling chickens was created in New Orleans by the Vargas family. The patriarch of this artistic family was Francisco Vargas. He was born in Mexico, where he had been trained in making wax religious sculptures. Francisco immigrated to the United States and in 1875 set up a shop in New Orleans selling his wax sculptures. Instead of religious images, Vargas created realistic looking flowers, fruits and human figures. The Vargas figures are made of beeswax and dressed in fabric that had been dipped in hot wax and draped over the doll. His children and grandchildren continued the family tradition up through 1930s. Many of the figures were sold as souvenirs and are based on vendors seen on the streets of New Orleans. Under her base, a black and silver label reads “Harriet’s 318 Royal Street New Orleans.”