Object Description: Black Dolls

In preparation for the opening of the First Person Museum in November, I will be investigating the historical, social, and cultural context of "Iris's black dolls," two objects that will be exhibited in the museum.

According to the method laid out by art historian Jules David Prown¹, such a study should naturally begin with an objective description of the artifact under analysis. A report from First Person Arts (the organization behind the First Person Museum) indicates that three general remarks may be made about Iris' black dolls: they are approximately 18 inches tall, made of cloth, and light-weight. A more exact description of the objects, however, cannot be presented at this time, since extenuating circumstances have prevented me from viewing or handling the dolls.

In lieu of a precise object description, I will offer a generic object description of black dolls.

Before I begin, one caveat: This post rests on the assumption that the objects termed "Iris' black dolls" are, in fact, generally similar in form, size, shape, material, production method, etc., to the objects described in various resource guides like Myla Perkins' Black Dolls 1820-1991: An Identification and Value Guide, Debbie Behan Garrett's Black Dolls: A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion, and Dawn E. Reno's The Encyclopedia of Black Collectibles: A Value and Identification Guide. Because a visual examination of Iris' black dolls has not yet occurred, the appropriateness of this assumption cannot be verified. Nevertheless, I proceed from this premise.

Generally speaking, black dolls are "dark-skinned, inanimate representations of dark-skinned people"² made from a variety of materials and made in a variety of shapes and sizes. Most often these objects are fashioned as playthings for children. Thus, when considered in Prawn's categories of function, most black dolls constitute diversions; some may be considered art, though the lines between these two categories (as Prawn himself acknowledges) are not strictly drawn.³

Dolls are modeled on both the male and female form. The dolls are composed of a head, torso, arms, legs, hands, and feet; most (but not all) have eyes, ears, a mouth, a nose, and hair. They are rendered with more or less resonance to human form depending upon the material from which they are made as well as the method of production used to create them. Most (but not all) wear an outfit made from a variety of fabrics. The dolls vary in coloring from black to very light brown. Some have articulated joints.

The dolls themselves are made from a variety of materials. Early folk dolls produced before the era of industrialization were fashioned from various "found" materials: corn husks and chicken bones (among other materials) formed the torsos, while nuts, socks, or even a rubber bottle nipple constituted the head.⁴ Later dolls were (and continue to be) fashioned from paper, papier-mache, china, bisque, wood, composition, leather, hard plastic, resin, porcelain, silicone, polymer clay, and vinyl (soft and hard), to name a few materials. Often dolls are made from a combination of materials: wood pulp bodies with bisque heads; cotton-stuffed bodies with bisque or china heads; etc.

The material used to create the facial features of black dolls varies, often according to the material used to make the head of the doll or according to the sophistication of the production process. In the case of all-cloth dolls, eyes may be made from buttons or from colored thread; in the case of bisque dolls, eyes may be made from glass and be recessed into the bisque head, or may be painted onto the ceramic itself. Noses and mouths follow a similar pattern; some dolls have open mouths (revealing teeth) or closed mouths. Ears, when present, are typically molded from the material used to make the head (plastic, ceramic, etc.).

Likewise, the material used to create the hair of black dolls varies, often according to the sophistication of the production process. Doll hair may be rendered from materials like yarn, lamb's wool, mohair, and human hair. Some dolls have painted hair or hair molded from plastic.

Black dolls have been mass-produced in Europe and the United States since the early 1800s. Prior to, continuous with, and subsequent to such industrial manufacturing, dolls are/were produced by hand. Production method (both industrial and non-industrial) varies depending upon the material.

Notes:

[1] Jules David Prown, "Mind in Matter: An Introduction to Material Culture Theory and Method," in Robert Blair St. George, ed., Material Life in America, 1600-1860 (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1988), pp. 24-25.

[2] Debbie Behan Garrett, Black Dolls: A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion (Privately published, 2008), p. 12.

[3] Prawn, p. 19, 29-30.

[4] Larry Vincent Buster, The Art and History of Black Memorabilia (New York: Clarkson and Potter, 2000), p. 130.