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January 27, 2005
Dolls through the ages
Dolls date back to prehistoric times. In Rome and Australia, doll-like figurines represented deceased ancestors in their religious rites. Early dolls are thought to have been made from “primitive materials such as clay, fur, or wood.” Although no known dolls have survived from prehistoric times, there was a discovery of a fragment of an alabaster doll with movable arms from the Babylonian period, writes T.U. Dawood
Sara, 6, lives in Hyderabad and won’t go anywhere without her doll Ayla. Made lovingly by her mother out of scrap pieces of cloth, Ayla is not only soft and cuddly, but is actually quite lovely with her embroidered eyes and pretty yellow and orange shalwar kameez.
Ismail owns a toy store in Saddar, Karachi. Although he has a wide variety of games, stuffed animals and trendy items like Pokemon, by far his biggest seller among little girls is Barbie. Ten years earlier, he had tried stocking some ethnic dolls made in the traditional Thar dolls, with rolled cloth arms and legs, but they never sold as well in his urban store as he would have liked.
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Rumana Husain has always had a passion for dolls. When her children were small, she wanted them to have something more personal and “warm” than the cold, plastic mass-produced dolls available in the market. So, she hand-crafted her own cloth-based dolls for them. As her work got noticed and her quality improved, she held exhibitions in 1981 and 1987.
When most people think of a doll, they conjure up an image of the classic blue-eyed blonde-haired beauty, Barbie, or perhaps at the other extreme, a frightening puppet-like voodoo doll.
The reality is all dolls represent something, whether a real-life person or object, or a symbol of a larger belief like a goddess.
According to the Webster’s New World Dictionary, a doll is a “child’s toy, puppet, marionette, etc., made to resemble a human being,” while according to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, it is “a small model of a human figure used as a child’s toy.”
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Pakistan in particular has a long-standing relationship with its dolls and in rural areas, in particular, local dolls are quite exquisite in their detailed craftsmanship and the art of doll-making is passed on from generation to generation. Just last year, in December 2003, the Human Rights Education Programme (HREP) held a show titled “Thematic campaign on diversity” to encourage children to make traditional dolls. Over 6000 entries were submitted for this category and displayed in at an art gallery and it was impressive how authentic and superior the craftsmanship of some were. As well, the success of this programme reiterated the significance of dolls in our culture.
Recently, our nation won second prize in the international dolls contest titled ‘Replicas of Authentic Items And National Dolls’ held in Izmir, Turkey. Crafter Farzana Zahoor from the village Ghulamka Dhiroka entered four dolls “dressed in traditional costumes along with their model houses representing culture of four provinces.” Zahoor has also won awards for her dolls in the Lok Virsa’s Folk Festival, Expo 2000 Germany, Dubai Shopping Festival and was also invited by the UNICEF Dolls Museum, Iceland to conduct an international workshop.
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Dolls date back to prehistoric times. They either typically depicted religious figures or were used for play. In Rome and Australia, for example, doll-like figurines represented deceased ancestors in their religious rites. Early dolls are thought to have been made from “primitive materials such as clay, fur, or wood.” Although no known dolls have survived from prehistoric times, there was a discovery of a fragment of an alabaster doll with movable arms from the Babylonian period.The first completely intact historical dolls found date back to 2000 BC and were discovered in the Egyptian graves. Wealthy Egyptian families included pottery dolls in their graves that were constructed of flat pieces of wood, painted with various designs and with hair made of strings of clay or wooden beads.
The general theory is that these were kept in the graves as cherished possessions, but they could also have been placed there to ward off evil spirits. Similar dolls have been found in burials in Cyprus, British Columbia, Peru and elsewhere.
In Greece and Rome, the tradition is slightly different. Dolls were buried in the graves of children as an offering to their goddess Artemisia, which depicted young girls reaching puberty. These dolls were very life-like and were usually made of clay, rags, wood or bone, and in special cases, ivory or wax. Furthermore, in Greece, jointed dolls were found in temples dedicated to the goddesses Demeter and Persephone.
Similarly, in our own history, dolls were an integral part of the Indus Valley Civilization, particularly Mohenjodaro and Harappa. To this day, archaelogists are unearthing terra cotta figurines, dolls and other artefacts during excavations. It is believed that the majority of these objects are symbolic representations. Harvard University’s Sharri R. Clark has written a book on this subject titled Embodying Indus Life: TerraCotta Figures From Harappa.
The realistic look of the shapes of some of the figures is quite impressive and the discovery of such items in affluent urban areas indicate doll-collecting was trationally a rich man or rich woman’s hobby! Due to our current lack of ability to decipher Indus symbols, the “exact exact and specific meaning of Indus symbols eludes us because of the absence of written texts.”
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Dolls from the Indus Valley Civilization are generally classified into two categories: those that were meant to be symbols of religion/fertility and those that were meant to be symbols of power, with the former symbols “underpinned by the symbols of power, wealth and social status, which set the rulers apart from the people and were used to mark the difference between public and private.” Many of the terra cotta human figurines and images of the Indus people were “symbolic of the act of procreation and fertility” and some are quite overtly sexual in nature.Back in Europe, dolls were progressing beyond terra cotta.The desire to make dolls as life-like as possible led in 600 BC to the creation of dolls with movable limbs and removable garments. In the middle ages in England, the “Gingerbread Man” became popular and was a doll that was eaten during festivities and is still popular today as a cookie as well as edible gingerbread men houses.
Dolls were seen as ideal childhood companions for little girls and the everyday actions of dressing, feeding or doing the hair of dolls are ways to prepare them for their role as a mother. In fact, during the renaissance, girls of royal blood learned through their dolls the strict codes of court etiquette. The most talented artisans were recruited by the nobility and dolls then came with elaborate wardrobes and were in a sense fashion ambassadors of one court, which were sent to other courts. It was not rare, for little princes and princesses, to exchange their dolls.
In the 16th and 17th century, Europe became the centre of doll production, and they were primarily made of wood. Wax dolls also became popular in these times. Wax doll makers would model a doll head in wax or clay and then use plaster to create a mold from the head before finally pouring melted wax into the cast. This has remained popular to this day as evidenced by the popular tourist attraction of Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in London, England.
In the 1800s, alternatives to wood such as papier mache (a composition of pulped wood and paper) also took off.
Porcelain dolls became popular at the beginning of the 19th century and were made by firing special clays in a kiln at more than 2,372 degrees Fahrenheit. These dolls were referred to as china or bisque dolls, which are collectors’ items today under posh brands such as the English Royal Doulton and the Spanish Illadro, who firmly and defensively refer to their range as figurines instead of dolls.
Prior to the 1880s, dolls depicted adults. The famous French “bebe” was the first doll of a young girl. It is still a highly prized and sought after doll today. French dolls were unrivalled in their artistry, but German dolls were very popular because they were more affordable. Price was a consideration, and for centuries, mothers made rag dolls for their children out of any leftover fabric. These were cherished dolls as they were often the child’s first toy.
After the Civil War in the 1860s, doll-making became an industry in the United States, with the centre of production in New England, and they were made from a variety of materials such as leather, rubber, papier mache, and cloth. For a brief period, celluloid became a popular material but was dismissed later because of its extreme flammability and propensity to fade in bright light.
After World War II, plastics became the rage because they were very durable. Slowly, other materials were introduced and vinyl, in particular, changed doll-making allowing doll makers to root hair into the head, rather than use wigs or painting the hair. Today, although most dolls are now mass-manufactured using these modern materials, many modern doll makers are using the traditional materials of the past to make collectible dolls.
Then, of course, came Barbie. Invented in 1959 by Mattel and Ruth Handler, which was named after Handler’s daughter Barbara, the doll was intended to be a teenage fashion doll. Its original release was amidst great controversy due to Barbie’s sexy figure which measured 36-18-38.
Many rival dolls have since come out such as Dawn, Angie, Gloria, Dale, Cher Mego, and of course, Chatty Cathy, but none has withstood the test of time of the famous Barbie doll, which was recently paid “tribute to” in the provocative pop track Barbie Girl by Aqua, which claimed Life is fantastic/when you are plastic!
Historically, dolls have held an honoured place in the history of culture and have always had meaning and representation beyond the world of children.
Across the border in India, there are all sorts of dolls ranging from homemade cloth dolls to collector’s items of the Hindu gods and other deities of the Hindu pantheon.
The use of dolls, fetishes, talismans, puppets, etc, have been recorded in virtually every culture, ancient and modern, but dolls as toys for children were seldom made to last for ages, and we can only surmise what they may have been like.
Dolls have played a variety of roles throughout the world. Whether they are used in fashion shows to show off different styles, or hung in streets or in stores as advertisements, there are a variety of types for a range of purposes. Puppet dolls have been used for puppet shows dating back to France, China and Burma.
In Medieval Europe, Christians made dolls to represent the history of their festivals. The Christmas Creche is still a hallowed part of worship and the artisans who crafted them began making special ones for rich customers. This is a practice that not only survives in certain European towns but also in China.
The dolls of native Americans were historically simple dolls fashioned out of roots, stone, coral, or clay and were probably first used in medicine, fertility, or birth rites. Some were given to sick or dying children to ease their transition to the afterlife, and others were used as love dolls meant to ensure marital success.
Others still were created for the purposes of witchcraft and in every tribal group there were powerful personal safeguards against the dark side or black medicine.
The most known of these, of course, are the infamous “Voodoo Dolls,” which originated and were invented in Africa. Authentic voodoo dolls are believed to be very powerful and can be used for good or bad purposes, separately or simultaneously. During ancient times, voodoo dolls were “used for protection or to destroy an enemy.”
In Japan, originally, dolls or ningyo (which in its broadest sense means “human figure”) were used as talismans to ward off evil and enemies. Centuries later, in World War II, the “geisha doll” became popularized by American soldiers who brought them back to the U.S. During that war, according to American anthropologist Ellen Schattschneider, who is researching the role of dolls in Japan’s military effort of World War II, “Dolls allowed civilian women to feel they were part of the war, and pilots to feel they were supported; and, later, allowed families to mourn the boys who had died without marriage and children.”
Today, Japanese dolls are popular as souvenirs, sacred objects and children’s toys. They have a spiritual significance to the Japanese people and are used to “seal friendships, protect or purify those who use them, and help young girls and boys explore their roles in society. Their history also reflects the development of religious and political ideas, and an economy of local crafts for export. They may be made of wood, reeds, paper, pottery, or even ivory, and dressed in the finest cloth, often woven or painted especially with appropriately tiny motifs.”
Whether the ubiquitous Pokemon, or previously Astro Boy, Ultraman, the Kewpie doll, Japanese historical tradition of ritual puppetry and of course, the famous Japanese Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival), the Japanese clearly have a special relationship with their dolls.
According to J. Bandaranaike, press officer of the cultural department of the Japanese embassy, “Japanese dolls are not mere toys. You can keep them as ornaments. Like the art of ikebana and bonsai, the dolls are also a part of their heritage.”
According to an article by Elaine Gerbert in the Journal of Popular Culture, the Japanese are continually making stories about adult attachment to dolls. For instance, in the first episode of the enormously popular Japanese television drama Oshin, the camera focuses on a faded kokeshi doll given to Oshin when she was a child. She is now an old woman and the dowager of a prosperous merchant family.
In Russia, dolls are the most popular national souvenir. Usually wooden and commonly referred to as matryoshka, these “Russian nesting dolls” or “nested dolls” or “stacking dolls” are world famous appearing in international exhibitions and festivals. Its origin lies in legends and fairy tales and dates back hundreds of years. The word “matryoskha” is from the Latin root mater meaning “mother” and from the popular Russian female name Matryona or Matriosha. What is distinct about matryoskhas from the dolls of other countries is that these brightly painted wooden figurines are made in such way that they could be taken apart to reveal smaller dolls fitting inside one another.
The popularity of dolls is linked with cinema whether the doll is the star character as in the Chuckie doll horror films or the children favourite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, or the most famous film doll of all, Pinoccio. A doll starring in a movie, however, is a doll based on a popular television series or comic strip character. For example, Joan Collins from Dynasty or Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or simply the timeless Spiderman figure.
When a character becomes popular, or even as part of marketing to promote films or singers, their dolls are usually in high demand. Psychologists have written extensively on the implications of the power dynamics between a child/owner and his/her doll, but that is beyond the scope of this article.
Art and rituals have always had a common origin in the expression of our relationship to divine powers and spirits and are often used in religious rites. Whether the Katchina dolls of the Hopi Indians portray the icons of the masked faces of the dancers in their rites or whether the dolls are wooden voodoo figures used for magic making, the representational aspect of doll-making should not be dismissed.
Dolls have also played a role in politics. For instance, research conducted by the head of Centre for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (CIDCYA), Majid Qaderi, and the Iranian doll-maker, Farzaneh Babaie, to respond to the needs of Iranian children, led to the creation of Dara and Sara, dolls with the traditional faces and clothing of 12 Iranian tribes.
As Qaderi states, “We have never considered Barbie an appropriate doll since a doll is taken as a cultural product. Once it is imported from the West, it is certainly accompanied by the western culture. Thus children will be introduced to foreign culture and get used to it. We wished our children were acquainted with dolls belonging to the Iranian culture. Yet neither did we intend to pose Dara and Sara against Barbie nor did we call them on as antagonizing Barbie. The idea of designing the two dolls was the complete outcome of a cultural survey on toys and no political incentive lies behind it.” The release of these dolls resulted in mixed international reactions and the prompt creation of Shimon, the first Jewish doll, in Israel.
Dolls have had a place throughout history and have always been a reflection of the times. Whether a noble doll for a person of royalty or a G.I. Joe for a young boy. In Pakistan, we currently do not have our own brand of dolls.
Facts about Barbie
According to Barbie trivia, and fan sites:
*In every second of every day, two Barbie dolls are sold somewhere in the world.
*The full name of Barbie is “Barbie Millicent Roberts.” She is from Willows, Wisconsin and went to Willows High School.
*The Barbie doll was introduced in 1959 and first appeared in a black and white-striped swimsuit and signature ponytail and sold for three dollars.
*During the first year of her introduction in 1959, 351,000 Barbie dolls were sold. Since then, an original 1959 Barbie doll in mint condition has sold for up to $10,000.
*Barbie has had more than 80 careers including that of a rock star to a paleontologist to a presidential candidate. However, her first career was a teenage fashion model.
*Barbie represented a candidate for president in 1992 and ran again in 2000 with a platform of opportunities for girls, educational excellence and animal rights.
*Barbie represented an astronaut in 1965, 1986 and 1994.
*The Barbie sport collection, including a clothing line and sport-related dolls was introduced in 1998 to inspire women in sports.
*The Barbie doll is currently available in more than 150 countries around the world and has represented 45 different nationalities.
*The first Barbie dolls of colour (black and Hispanic) were introduced in 1980.
*Barbie has had over 43 pets including 21 dogs, 12 horses, three ponies, six cats, a parrot, a chimpanzee, a panda, a lion cub, a giraffe and a zebra.
*Barbie has five sisters, Skipper (introduced in 1964), Tutti (a twin introduced in 1966), Stacie (introduced in 1992), Kelly (introduced in 1995) and Krissy (introduced in 1999).
*Barbie’s boyfriend, Ken (named after Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot Handler’s son) made his debut two years after Barbie, in 1961.
*Barbie doll’s first pet was a horse named Dancer.
*Barbie has had more than a billion pair of shoes and over one hundred new additions to her wardrobe annually.
*Barbie’s signature colour is pink.
*Barbie’s collection of haute couture includes designs by Givenchy, Versace, Dolce and Gabana, Vera Wang and Gucci.
*In 2000, Barbie doll had a belly button for the first time.
*Barbie doll is currently a $1.5 billion dollar-per-year industry. —T.U.D.
Types of dolls
The French word for doll is “poupée” which is said to be derived from the Latin word “puppa” and “pupa”. This French word is the origin of the “puppet” doll whether in loose form like a hand puppet or in wooden and cloth form as in many puppet shows today or as featured in the film Sound of Music.
French authors François Theimer and Michel Voinier define the main category of dolls in Dolls Contemporary Works of Art as follows:
“The handcrafted doll is a repetitive, handmade artistic work, limited in its creation, which simply reproduces an already established genre.
“The art doll is the industrial reproduction of an original work by an artist. It is unsigned (copies may be countersigned, like a lithography), but it is not an original work of art.”
Popular methods today for making dolls include:
Biscuit:
Derived from the word bis-cuit which means twice baked. Biscuit refers to white unenameled porcelain which is fired in an oven and has the grain of marble.
Wax:
Wax dolls were once very popular and are favoured by some well-known artists of today.
Paperclay:
Paper paste made by combining talcum powder and paper. It can be air-dried or dried at low temperatures in an oven. It’s a popular technique used by many art doll makers.
Papier mache:
Paper paste made from water soaked sheets of paper, which are layered. This paste can also be made by mixing paper, water and glue or plaster. Many artists have developed their own recipes.
Porcelain:
A translucid and waterproof substance, molten porcelain is molded at high temperatures and solid porcelain can be hand sculpted.
Super Sculpey:
This refers to polymer which is very popular today.
And, of course, wood, clay, cloth and even straw are still very much in use.—T.U.D.
Gender and dolls
According to Dolls, Trucks, And Identity: Educators Help Young Children Grow Beyond Gender by Sehba Zhumkhawala (November-December 1997 Children’s Advocate news magazine, published by Action Alliance for Children), “Children start to define their gender identities in their preschool years,” and “teachers and parents unconsciously promote these stereotypes” by giving girls girlie dolls like Barbie and boys either manly dolls like G. I. Joe or Spiderman or trucks, fire engines or even toy guns.
Researchers have found that regardless of what toys children requested, they received only gender-specific toys from their lists. While there is value in promoting girls to be good nurturers and men to be strong protectors, there is danger when this is not monitored because little boys in particular begin playing with toy guns and other weapons at a very young age.
Furthermore, research has found that boys who are introduced to family scenario games, tend to have better motor coordination and more skillful handwriting. Similarly, girls who play with building blocks (traditionally a boy’s game) have superior math and science skills than girls.
In 1992, the American Association of University Women conducted a much-talked about study, How Schools Shortchange Girls, which later gave a grant to Buswell and Kekelis to start workshops in California to educate parents and teachers on promoting gender equity in the classroom and at home.
According to Kekelis, parents should set up play rooms jointly for sons and daughters with blocks and stuffed animals, as a veterinary hospital or an underwater world, to encourage girls and boys to play in new ways and with new toys or activities. This encourages both genders to work together as a team, rather than setting up divisionary lines between them. According to research, this reduces chances of violence later on, on the part of the boys, particularly toward their wives when they marry.
Buswell and Kekelis videotaped classrooms in the US and found that “even the most well-meaning teachers can unconsciously reinforce sexism” and that “most — even in preschools — pay more attention to boys than girls. Boys get more chances to speak, more praise and suggestions, and more hugs.”
The results of these studies suggest rather than parents giving their children gender-specific toys like trucks, guns and Power Rangers for boys and Barbies and other dolls for girls, they should introduce gender-equal toys. These would include toy animals, play worlds and board games.—T.U.D.
From rags to plastic
I have yet to meet a girl who has not played with dolls and made them her best friends. I also have yet to meet a boy who hasn’t manhandled his sister’s dolls to tease her or settle scores with her. That is how it used to be when we were young. It was not just playing with dolls that gave us great pleasure. Making rag dolls for us from leftover material and stitching exotic dresses for them was a source of great joy to our mothers and aunts. It bonded us together – this common interest in dolls.
Then there were the weddings which were arranged with great fanfare. Of course one of the cousins or friends had to have a “gudda” to enable the whole protocol to be followed. Even real weddings which were simple in those days were no match. The doll had her dowry and all the ceremonies took place with attention paid to all details. But when the rukhsati took place, invariably the whole show ended in a brawl. “How can she take away my doll?” the bride’s mother would yell as she burst into tears. Giving away a doll was unthinkable!
As we grew older our interest in these little creatures became more sophisticated for then the doll-making industry had also developed. The rag dolls became plastic dolls with immovable limbs. Soon the hands and legs were shaped more like an infant’s and could be moved. The doll even had real hair which its proud owner could brush and tie with ribbons. We spent hours over dressing up the little one.
For me the final moment of ecstacy came when I received a doll which had a little feeding bottle and you could actually fill it with water and put it between its lips. And it would pee – sure she had super fast kidneys. Then we changed the nappies clucking our tongue to pacify it – for it could also cry, it being a different matter that its wailing mechanism had to be activated by some device. Even when I outgrew my dolls, they remained on the shelf for ages till little guests who were visiting with their parents and whom I was expected to entertain took a fancy for one of the dolls and I would give it away, hiding my hurt behind a pleasant smile.
But there was nothing to worry for dolls returned to my life when my daughters were born. This time the doll could actually walk and speak, but the live dolls were more fun, even though they could at times make life difficult when they woke you up in the middle of the night and refused to go back to sleep for hours at an end.—S.M.
Geisha dolls
Although sometimes people refer to the “silk-faced ningyo” as “geisha dolls,” in actuality only a few represent the historical geisha. Geisha girls are part of a Japanese tradition of training ladies professionally in the art of pleasing men. This practice dates back at least from the early 17th century and there were actually levels of these trained women. The best class was oiran and they could pick their choice of lovers. The geisha was a lower class than the oiran and was originally an entertainer who played and sang for the oiran and her customers.
Over time, the quiet but talented geisha became more popular with the men than the oiran and took on their legendary status. A geisha is usually presented “as a doll in a rich dark kimono with a simple obi, ready to play her samisen.” They can also be dressed as a “maiko,” which is a young dancer or apprentice geisha, who as a doll is “usually particularly bright-looking with the long sleeves worn only by young girls, often with a parasol ready to go enjoy the world.”
The dolls took on an importance of their own during World War II when U.S. soldiers took them home as souvenirs. They are seen to this day displayed in homes of many veterans. Today, authentic ones are quite valuable and are sold in antique shops.—T.U.D.
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