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doll
doll
doll
A male doll, dressed in a coat, carrying an axe, powderhorn, and bundle attached to a burden strap which may be a miniature bed roll. He is accompanied by a pair of snowshoes. Hodenosaunee, most likely from Lorette, but possibly from Kahnawake. Donated to the Pitt Rivers Museum by F.C. Woodforde in 1912, who collected the doll around 1865.
The Pitt Rivers Accession book entry states the doll is Iroquois, Kahnawake. RP says the doll is from Lorette. JM noted that the Woodland Cultural Centre doesn't have any dolls like this one -- that are wooden -- in their collection.
Pitt Rivers Object catalogue and observations made by the GRASAC research team.
Read More About This Relative
wood; pigment, red and black; twill cloth, beige with a long brushed nap; woolen yarn, red; deer hide, unsmoked; sinew; linen thread; yarn, red
The doll is carved. His moccasins have a centre seam construction. The red woolen yarn trim on the doll's clothing is done in a buttonhole stitch.
The doll is carrying an axe, powderhorn, and bundle attached to a burden strap which may be a miniature bed roll.
CW says the doll is wearing a classic capote coat that was worn in many places throughout the nineteenth century, and that its red edging was quite typical of this style of coat.
JM said this doll has a "classic Brave face" which suggests it was made for the tourist trade.
The GRASAC team generally agreed that this item was likely made for the tourist trade.
CW suggested that dolls made with faces would not have been made for use within Indigenous communities, because it would have been powerful, or dangerous.
CW says that the type of fabric used to make the doll's dress, a twill cloth, dates the doll to the latter half of the 19th century.
LP suggested the doll may have been carrying other items which have since been lost.
RP said this doll resembles those made in Lorette for the tourist trade. She said there is a collection of them at the Bristol Art Gallery. She also noted that there is a pair of miniature snowshoes in the Speyre collection at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, similar to the ones accompanying this doll, with the date "1796" written on them.
Made in the 19th century. The twill cloth used in the construction of the doll's clothing suggests a date of manufacture in the latter half of the 19th century.
Provenance
This doll was donated to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1912 by F.C. Woodforde. Along with several other items, Woodforde collected this doll in Canada around 1865. The Pitt Rivers Accession book entry reads, "F.C. Woodforde collected specimins in Canada, chiefly in New Brunswick, c. 1865."
About This GRASAC Record
This record was created as part of a Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures (GRASAC) research trip to the Pitt Rivers Museum and British Museum, December 8-22 2007, funded by a grant from the International Opportunities fund of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), Al Corbiere (AC), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Laura Peers (LP), Ruth Phillips (RP), Anne De Stecher (AS), Cory Willmott (CW).