Jig doll in the form of a caricatured porter: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A wooden jig doll in the form of a caricatured porter. The doll's face is painted black, with white eyes and a wide, white mouth. The doll's arms are jointed at the shoulder and his legs are jointed at the hip and knees. His legs and feet are unpainted wood. A dowel has been inserted into a round hole in the bottom of the torso, attaching the legs. The dolls face, hands, and lower legs are painted black. His hat, torso, arms, upper legs, and feet are painted white. He has unevenly shaped eyes. The doll's torso is painted as if he is wearing a white double-breasted jacket and white bowtie. The jacket has six (6) black buttons painted on, in two (2) rows of three (3). There is a round black button painted on each wrist and two (2) black buttons painted on the outside of each upper leg. There is a round hole in the center of the doll's back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1935
• Created by: Unidentified
• Type: dolls
• Medium: paint on wood and metal
• Dimensions: 13 5/8 x 3 1/8 x 2 3/4 in. (34.6 x 7.9 x 7 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Caricature and cartoons
• Topic: Stereotypes
• Object number: 2007.7.267
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Collection of James M. Caselli and Jonathan Mark Scharer
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.