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Chinese Door of Hope Mission Doll: Traditional Bride browse these categories for related items... All Items: Antiques:Regional Art:Asian:Chinese:Dolls and Puppets: Pre 1920: item # 846211 Please refer to our stock # 4B-02 when inquiring.
B & C Antiques P. O. Box 291 Derby, CT 06418 203-929-7312 Guest Book SOLD |
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Always among the most coveted and valuable of the Chinese “Door of Hope” mission dolls is the Traditional Bride. This doll, in pristine condition, dates to ca. 1920. She is dressed all in red with a red silk pao top embroidered with flowers and gold trim. The side-pleated red silk skirt is embroidered in flowers, with beaded tassels hanging down the sides. Her elaborate headdress, with a red veil in place over the face, is heavily beaded, and she carries a red handkerchief with an embroidered edge in her right hand. The veil is supposed to be worn in the front to completely hide the face, but few collectors want to hide her and intentionally turn the head dress backwards. As on all of the earlier Brides, she wears small pointed embroidered red silk lotus shoes, signifying bound feet. She has a finely carved pear wood head and hands, carved and painted black eyes, a closed mouth and well-detailed carved ears. An enigmatic smile brightens her sweet oval face, and her painted hair is carved in a single bun in back surrounded with flowers. Door of Hope dolls have become highly collectible treasures, in part, because of their fascinating history. In 1900, five missionary ladies started the Door of Hope Mission in Shanghai. They opened schools for destitute young girls so they could learn to support themselves. As a means to learn sewing skills, the girls dressed dolls. These beautifully created and utterly different dolls are magnificent in their carvings and costuming. Heads and hands were carved from Chinese “Niponga wood” or pear wood, a light colored hardwood that is tough and difficult to carve. In its natural color it resembles the ivory of the Chinese skin. Touches of paint were then added for the lips, eyes and hair. The dolls were supplied by craftsmen skilled in wood carving and then meticulously dressed in Chinese clothing with amazing detail by the young girls. Frog closures, tiny undergarments and minute embroideries all accented these wonderful garments. Each girl could dress only about one doll a month, and the relatively low volume of production of these dolls has increased their scarcity. Production of Door of Hope dolls continued until the Japanese invasion of Shanghai in 1937, at which time most of the estimated total production of 20,000 Door of Hope dolls had already been made. There were approximately 26 standard characters representing differing Chinese social classes. The Bride and Bridegroom, which were at the top of the hierarchy, were always among the most expensive of all the Door of Hope doll characters. CONDITION is excellent and like new. This doll has been kept in a well protected environment. She comes with a custom-made clear plastic stand and would be a superb addition to any Door of Hope doll collection. DIMENSIONS: 11” (28 cm) high. |
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