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Songye Female Ancestor Figure
No full textAncestor Figure
9 1/2 high
Circa 19th Century
Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa
Wood
A standing female figure with an enlarged oval head, coffee bean-shaped eyes, a block-like nose and projecting oval mouth. The bent arms with large, flat hands grasp the abdomen. The legs are bent and the feet stem from a circular base.https://dclu.langston.edu/africanartcollection_14_15/1035/thumbnail.jp
1950 Porcelain Mammy Doll
No full textPorcelain Mammy Doll. Series I, Box 1
16½” high and 7½” wide
1950
Multinational
Mixed medium porcelain
The Mammy is a figure from the history of United States slavery. The female African-American slaves were tasked with the duties of domestic household workers. This tradition continued well after slavery as many African-American women had their first jobs as domestic help. The Mammy image was: An older woman, dark skinned, overweight, whose job it was to prepare meals, clean homes, and nurse and rear children. She was an idealized figure of a caregiver, amiable, loyal, maternal, non-threatening, obedient, and submissive, and demonstrated deference to white authority. This figure is still present in modern times with Mrs. Butterworth\u27s and Aunt Jemima used by food corporations. This doll is of medium to heavy set build, has bulging eyes, large dark lips, and a medium brown complexion. She wears a bandana, plaid clothes, and an apron, to show that she is a kitchen worker. This doll was made in the 1950’s the height of the African-American domestic worker era.https://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1011/thumbnail.jp
Wood Bahamas Path Dolls
No full textBahamas Wood Path Dolls. Series I, Box 1
Doll I - 5 high and 2 wide
Doll II - 5½” high and 2½” wide
1995
Islands
Wood and cloth
Island dolls, which are sold to tourist, are made from mediums available to the artist such as wood, plastic, cloth, porcelain, and Paper Mache. Tourists have traditionally expected stereotypical images. These images are of people carrying baskets on their heads, dressing in colorful cloths, wearing headpieces with fruit, or wearing Bermuda hats. Another common image of Island Peoples is that of the blackface minstrel. These dolls have a blackface minstrel appearance, are holding maracas and are dressed in colorful cloths. The dolls are made of wood.https://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1010/thumbnail.jp
1995 Kenya Serena Doll
No full textKenya Serena Doll. Series I, Box 1
17½” high 7” wide
1995
Europe
Mixed medium plastic
Limited Edition Serena “is a plastic first issue in the Passport to Friendship collection. She is part of the Ashton- Drake Dolls doll collection from the 1990’s when dolls were attempting to create accurate representations of people from around the world. This doll is an attempt to be an authentic representation of a young girl from Kenya, but also represent all young girls from the African Diaspora. She is of a medium brown complexion, brown eyes, medium build, and light brown lips. She wears a traditional African outfit that would be worn for special occasions.https://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1006/thumbnail.jp
1920 Vinyl Face and Cloth Doll
No full textVinyl Face and Cloth Doll. Series II, Box 2
18” high 7” wide
1920
United States
Mixed medium vinyl and cloth
This doll is a combination of the European featured baby doll and the “Pickaninny Caricature” of African-American children. The “Pickaninny” child is portrayed as a child with dark skin, bulging eyes, big red lips, chubby belly, wild woolly hair and wearing mismatched clothes. This doll has thin lips, chubby cheeks, dark skin, bulging eyes, wild woolly hair and wild mismatched clotheshttps://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1014/thumbnail.jp
New Orleans Hand-Made Doll
No full textNew Orleans Hand-Made Doll. Series IV Box 4
9½” high 6” wide
Unknown Date
United States of America
mixed medium, cloth, plastic, wicker
This doll comes from the tradition of New Orleans where African - Americans were influenced by people from the Caribbean. This is due to the combination of the French, Spanish, Indian, and African cultures in these islands. The people of New Orleans also have the combination of these cultures. This doll has a flowing skirt made of wicker, a bright colorful top, a colorful head piece, and a basket on her head. She wears bright make-up on her medium brown complexion skin. This doll is a created by local artist by materials that are available and sold to tourist. Although this doll is from New Orleans, it could easily be mistaken for any island doll.https://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1020/thumbnail.jp
Bahamas Banana Leaf Dolls
No full textBahamas Banana Leaf Dolls. Series V Box 5
8” high 5” wide EFL 030 A
9” high 4½” wide EFL 030 B
Unknown Year
Bahamas
Mixed Medium, wood, banana leaf,plastic, vinyl, and porcelain
The Pequot’s Indians of the New England area of the United States were taken as slaves to English owned islands such as Bermuda and the Bahamas. The Pequot’s took their doll making tradition with them to the islands. The Pequot’s made dolls with banana leaves and other items. This tradition was passed on to the natives of the islands who then passed this tradition on to African Diaspora Slaves. These dolls follow this tradition. The dolls are wearing flowing clothes and head pieces. The dolls have features of people who have a mixed race heritage of European, Indian, and African, similar to many island peoples.https://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1021/thumbnail.jp
African-American Prince Menelik
No full textAfrican- American Prince Menelik by Avon. Series X. Box 10
12” high and 3½” high
1994 representing unknown time period
United States
mixed medium, cloth, vinyl, and plastic
This doll was created to represent the African American male for those African Americans who did not know from what parts of Africa that their ancestors came. The doll uses a generic Kente cloth to represent Africa instead of a specific country. The origins of the Kente Cloth are the Ashanti peoples of Ghana.The doll is given the status of royalty to denote that African Americans came from royalty and should be proud of their African Diaspora heritage. The doll is of medium brown complexion, a medium build, and has soft facial features. This was done in order to create an accurate representation of the male figure from the African-American Community. This doll was created by the Avon Corporation to help promote a positive image of African –Americans both for the African American community and the mainstream American community at large.https://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1026/thumbnail.jp
Yolanda Bello\u27s Danielle
No full textYolanda Bello\u27s Danielle Series III. Box 3
10” high 6½” wide
1992
United States
Mixed Medium, porcelain, vinyl, plastic, and cloth
This doll is a Yolanda Bello doll from the Picture Perfect Babies Collection made for the Ashton-Drake house in 1992. This doll is another example of the move to make dolls an accurate representation of African- Americans and other minority groups. The “Danielle” doll is the female version of the male doll “David”. This doll appears similar to the “David” doll with a medium brown complexion, dimple cheeks, soft medium shaped nose, but added softer lips and longer hair than “David”.https://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1035/thumbnail.jp
African Diaspora Doll
No full textAfrican Diaspora Doll Series V. Box 5
12” high 5” wide
1980
Multinational
Plastic, Vinyl, Cloth, and mixed medium
This doll is a representation of someone from the African Diaspora with traditional African or island clothing. The doll wears Kente cloth but also wears a bright head wrap that may be worn by women of the islands, or African-Americans in the United States. This doll would be representative of a person from an African Diaspora background without stereotypical skin colors or facial features. She has medium brown skin and medium makeup. This doll was made in the 1980\u27s when people from the African Diaspora were demanding dolls that were more representative of their racial background versus stereotypical images.https://dclu.langston.edu/eflewisdollcollection/1041/thumbnail.jp